Awww. So sorry to hear about that. It never gets easier, especially if they
just disappear :(

Hi, Mike.  I'm relatively new to this group, and as I've said on other
threads, the amount of sorrow you can find on this group alone should
be enough to make God "kick start" our rotten world and set things
straight.  Unfortunately, as of 8/30/04, S-HE hasn't.

I read posts on Google and notice you've posted memento moris each
anniversary of Ike's leaving.  Do you live in an area of the country
where the crickets and changing leaves are melancholy?  I ask because
I live in the Northeast and find August an extremely difficult
month--sad enough without having a memory as bitter as yours.

So sad and lonely, Ike's going out as usual--probably none too fast,
if my 14 year-old is similar at all--then encountering some lonely
event.  But don't dwell on the sad date.  I have an ugly pet-related
anniversary I've taken active steps not to commemorate, because I know
the pets in question wouldn't want that.  They loved me, the way Ike
loved you.

Ike's not lonely.  If no sparrow can fall to the ground without your
Father and Mother in Heaven seeing, I'm sure, as you put it in your
original post, if Ike *did* wander toward the rainbow bridge, he
wandered into Love.  It was what he was familiar with, right?  So his
soul's instinct would be to be satisfied with nothing less.

God Bless You.