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What is the hardest thing you ve ever done?
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:33 pm
by burun_Archive
Hardest thing I had to do was tell my dad that at that particular time, I didn't care if I ever spoke to him or saw him ever again.
That was about 10 years ago and I'm happy to say that things have gotten better between us.
What is the hardest thing you ve ever done?
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:37 pm
by mrarrison_Archive
Arson Smith wrote:This may mean I've had a pretty sheltered life, but... so far I'd have to say the first time it was left up to me to take a pet cat in to the veterinarian to be "put down".
You go in, you talk with the doctor, then they say "OK - I'll step out of the room for a while so you can say goodbye". Then you sit there and pet your cat, and scratch their chin, etc. while your cat looks at you like "Thanks, person - I know you love me - thank you for loving me." and you wonder if you are taking too long in the examination room, and then you say "OK", and do one more little extra pet or scratch for emphasis, and then you leave the room and give the doctor the signal and you walk out to the parking lot and drive home.
I did this about a year ago for my tabby of 15 years. I had to go pick up my wife to tell her and come back to the vet. my cat was headbutting me, purring even, happy to see us both in such a strange, cold place with barking dogs. her kidneys had completely failed and she had lost 4 pounds in two weeks. I stayed in the room when the vet gave her the final shot. this was very very hard.
What is the hardest thing you ve ever done?
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:46 pm
by Arson Smith_Archive
mr.arrison wrote:I stayed in the room when the vet gave her the final shot. this was very very hard.
oh man, you are clearly tougher than I'll ever be - I would have lost my shit in about 100 different directions at once... now if I'm a bit older here if/when the time ever comes again, perhaps I'd remember this conversation and consider it... but I don't know if I could handle it.
What is the hardest thing you ve ever done?
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:50 pm
by Red Square_Archive
yeah, i lost my cat of 12 years last july and i had never had to put an animal down before...that was definitely one of the hardest things to do in my life...
but not the only hardest thing in my life...
What is the hardest thing you ve ever done?
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:50 pm
by dontfeartheringo_Archive
My old vet used to make house calls.
She came and we put one of my dogs down in the living room, then I put my dog in the truck and drove her out to the land of a friend of mine.
I buried her there myself, in her favorite blanket.
I knew that day, just a few short months after my divorce, that I had finally crossed the line into adulthood. Digging a grave for a dog is a grownup job.
Later that night I sat on the porch and smoked a cigar while comforting my other dog (and myself) and thinking "This not-drinking thing is harder some days than others."
What is the hardest thing you ve ever done?
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:01 pm
by jayryan_Archive
Arson Smith wrote:This may mean I've had a pretty sheltered life, but... so far I'd have to say the first time it was left up to me to take a pet cat in to the veterinarian to be "put down".
You go in, you talk with the doctor, then they say "OK - I'll step out of the room for a while so you can say goodbye". Then you sit there and pet your cat, and scratch their chin, etc. while your cat looks at you like "Thanks, person - I know you love me - thank you for loving me." and you wonder if you are taking too long in the examination room, and then you say "OK", and do one more little extra pet or scratch for emphasis, and then you leave the room and give the doctor the signal and you walk out to the parking lot and drive home.
i have done nothing hard in my life to compare to some of what's in this thread. i've had some difficult times and some low lows, but nothing worth mentioning here.
however, my one major most painful regret ever was in leaving my dog to be put down. i should have sat with her as she passed. i should have stayed with her.
What is the hardest thing you ve ever done?
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:06 pm
by mrarrison_Archive
Arson Smith wrote:mr.arrison wrote:I stayed in the room when the vet gave her the final shot. this was very very hard.
oh man, you are clearly tougher than I'll ever be - I would have lost my shit in about 100 different directions at once... now if I'm a bit older here if/when the time ever comes again, perhaps I'd remember this conversation and consider it... but I don't know if I could handle it.
I just figured she didn't want to die alone, she was headbutting me and trying to jump off the table to be with me if I moved across the room even though she could barely stand up. my wife was trembling. i was just in shock... up until the moment the needle went in her leg. it was really hard. my grandmother dying of leukemia when I was 10 years old seemed easier.
What is the hardest thing you ve ever done?
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:11 pm
by Spoke_Archive
this has turned into the death and dying thread.
*gets ready for a panic attack*
What is the hardest thing you ve ever done?
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:40 pm
by that damned fly_Archive
Spoke wrote:this has turned into the death and dying thread.
*gets ready for a panic attack*
(waiting with paper bag to hand Spoke in a matter of minutes.)
What is the hardest thing you ve ever done?
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:58 pm
by Spoke_Archive
that damned fly wrote:Spoke wrote:this has turned into the death and dying thread.
*gets ready for a panic attack*
(waiting with paper bag to hand Spoke in a matter of minutes.)
mine are not just hyperventilating, they also involve screaming and thrashing and kicking and falling and running around screaming and thrashing and kicking and falling on the floor and getting up and breaking shit and screaming and running and falling over and flailing and screaming and eventually passing out for a moment and then calming down into a state of exhausted and tear-drenched despair as i hover over the yawning pit of void and nothingness and contemplate utter personal doom and all life's many meanings being mooted.
but later on i can make a hand puppet out of that bag and entertain my kids with it, so thanks!
