But our really great day was, of course, shrouded in grief and sadness. It was just like the day itself: the sun shone despite the dark gray rain clouds that cloaked the whole peninsula.
Between the pool, the rain, the water park, and the steady stream of tears, we were soaked through all day.
The kids swam their best and placed in the top three in all of their events.
Her fly may not look pretty, but RK ruled the pool with it.
Despite his ever present backstroke bob, Roman created some waves, too.
And Iryna, of course, swam like a champ. She's got some stiff competition from another team, though. A little girl named "Rita." "Ryna." "Rita." Nobody knows who's cheering for whom.
They're starting to make friends and really get into the groove on their new team. It's good that we got them into the pool as quickly as we did.
It's providing us with a good distraction from the reality of our broken hearts.
Dan, Freyja's trainer, said he's trying to make her as comfortable as possible. He's keeping her medicated to ease her pain, but not so much that she cannot get up and enjoy the last moments of her life. He even took her out for ice cream last night.
We are grateful that he loves her. We are grateful that she is surrounded by the sounds and scents of her puppyhood. We are grateful for the sun through the clouds.
The swim meet was hosted by Camp Humpreys located south of Seoul in a agricultural town called Pyongtek. The base is surrounded by lush fields of green.
It was a refreshing change from our concrete jungle in Seoul. The smell of manure hung in the air from the farmers fertilizing their fields. Believe it or not, despite that, the fresh air was, well, a breath of fresh air.
Camp Humpreys has a pretty good sized waterpark and we made off for it as soon as the last race was swum. We couldn't go wrong at $5 for the whole family and a free bus ride back.
Reilly Kate got the Kellster acclimated to the pool. But once she did, there was no stopping him.
He was fearless and loving it all.
Here he's signing "again," which he signed over and over for hours.
Speaking of fearless, the bigs had a blast jumping off the high dive.
Kelly kept trying to convince one of them to take him with them. They didn't. But he gets credit for being relentless. RK gets credit for putting up with him.
It was a blast. Mike and I even had a couple of pool side beers and a soak or two in the hot tub.
As we were leaving, another swim team mom said to me, "What a great day!" To which I responded by bursting into tears.
Freyja was never far from our thoughts. Just like she was never far from Kelly when he was a baby. She took it upon herself to watch over him. She didn't like tummy time. He cried. She would get stressed out when he cried, coming to get me or my mother in law, begging, with those beautiful eyes of hers, to pick him up and comfort him.
She has surprisingly strong maternal instincts. She was a great mom to Skadi, too.
She is Roman's dog. For his First Communion, he had a German Shepherd Dog statue on his cake in lieu of anything remotely religious. He even had "Roman Hayes Dog Lover" put on his cake and banner. That was his spirituality. That was where his soul felt comfortable. Certainly, St Francis was present that day.
I hope St Francis comes back to touch Roman's heart once again. He is hurting so badly right now that he is swearing off all future pets. Freyja will be the third dog we've lost in four years. The losses are taking their toll.
When Alyx was diagnosed with cancer, Freyja was just months old. The oncologist told us that grains, all grains, are carcinogenic to dogs. We immediately changed to an expensive, grain free kibble. Freyja has been fed nothing else since.
She will not live to see her 7th birthday.
And so, there I sat in the locker room, dripping wet and half naked sobbing to practical strangers. Then Iryna joined in. Then they joined in. And we all sat there, dripping wet and half naked, grieving the dogs we've lost.
Maybe Roman has a good point.
Our day ended with a fabulous sunset over the Han River. Seoul is really a spectacular city. People were camped along the banks, enjoying the summer, and soju and each other's company.
Heavy, but happy hearts returning to the hotel. A cloudy, rainy, gray dreary day filled with fun and great memories. We even got some sunburns to remind us that the sun surely did shine. And strongly.
Missing our girl, and hoping she finds comfort and peace. Praying she feels our love across the oceans that lie between us. Our hearts connected. Always.
As Will Rogers once said, "If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."
I know I've got a lot of friends there.
I am just loving this blog!!
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