When Comrades Die

[Stillraining]

Good comrades come and go in ones life but the best ones the ones that reach deep into your inter core and touch in ways you thought not possible ...the ones that make a difference in your life are hard to loose.

We sailors of the sea are a bit of a romantic lot even if hidden under a grizzled and hardened stare...it lingers still deep within as that is the driving force in which our love for the sea first arose from.

Like sailing on the ocean's waves we learn to plot our way through the crests and troughs of life in much the same manor...our plotted course may have to be altered at some point due to a storm on the horizon or ones that descend on us in the night.

We try to be prepared for all eventualities as best we can..storing up knowledge and practicing ways to steady our ship against those storms and ill tempered waves...the rogues are the ones we dread and cannot predict..prepare for them all you want but seldom will it prove of much good for you are at the mercy of uncontrollable forces and can do little but just hang on and wait for the ensuing turmoil to run its course.

The storms of life like the tide are guaranteed...how well we are anchored to solid ground and or the quality and trust in our ship if caught away from a safe port is what will keep us in good stead...it is a comforting place to be to trust in something at a high degree of magnitude...but ruin can still come upon us in a moments notice.

As much as I prepare and ready myself for life's storms... for me I have learned my best anchor is my faith...trusting that if I set my sails according to his sail plan all things he is working for my good...it my involve pain...it may involve heart ache and may even require losses and setback that make no sense at the time....but like the distance horizon we have little knowledge of what lies ahead.

Faith...in you ship..in your abilities..in a positive outcome are all essential to crossing the seas of the world and the wave tossed sea of life.

Loosing part of your fleet be that Son or daughter, wife or husband or any loved one is hard to bear...loosing a comrade is so as well.

Today my family mourns for not such noble causes ..and surly not so painful of one by any measure either...but morn we do just the same... for this comrade , this horse has been a family friend and a companion and friend to us all and especially for my eldest daughter for this is her trusted comrade.

A decade is not long enough of a friendship and there are some of you here I hope to have in my life for far longer then that... for touched within I have been by you ..better as a person I have become because of you...and thankful to be considered by some as your comrade.

My daughter has yet to learn the passing of her best friend...thank you for letting me prepare and practice for the rouge she will soon be hit by.

Fair Winds

Your comrade Scott

[Ocean Girl]

So sorry for your family's and especially your daughter's loss. If your post is any example of how you tell your daughter about her comrade, and if she is anything like you, she will face that rogue wave with grace and faith.
God Bless,
Erika

[Lucio60]

Scott,
I can understand you, our dog is relatively young now but will grow old and will pass away sooner or later. Needless to say she's a full-time member of the family and I cannot figure out how my daughter would face such an event (she's so in love with her dog!)
But loss of beloved ones, be them humans or animals, is one of the ways that nature gave us for becoming "adult". Your daughter will succeed in accepting this loss, it's just a matter of time, but after that, she'll surely become a more "complete" person.
All the best

[gr8trn]

Comrades of any shape or color are comrades none the less. Faith is strong with you, what a blessing!
Greg

[Stillraining]

Thanks guys

[bastonjock]

I too have daughters who have horses,infact the photo that you attached reminded me a lot of watching my girls in competitions.

i do not relish the duty that you have to perform,i have had to deal with a household of women who were greaving for a lost horse.My eldest daughter was "lunging" her horse and it spooked,reared up fell over backwards and broke its neck.

I had the horse collected by a specialist company and we had it individually creamated,to this day my eldest still has the ashes in a casket with a pollished horseshoe and photo embedded on it

sorry to hear about your loss

[speakeasy]

Scott, I'm sorry for your loss. I understand about losing comrades and understand how animals can become family. Still, everything is relative and there are always reasons for gratitude, which after 50 years of life or so, is demanded of us by spiritual faith. Be grateful it was your daughter's horse and not your daughter. In February last, I lost my oldest daughter to breast cancer. She was perhaps the person who best understood and who loved me most. The grief has diminished but still comes unbidden. Her daughter just left this morning after a week's visit and her loss and her challenge makes my heart ache.

Blessings on you and on us all. Jon

[Christian Van H]

Scott, I truly feel for you and your daughter. It doesn't take long to glimpse flashes of sentience in animals we observe and become close to. Some would rather not believe, as it's much easier going through life thinking all animals are here for our bidding, but they're not. Each is special, and each is precious, and well worth knowing. The only thing worse than losing your comrade would be to never have known him at all. I once had the privilege to befriend an amazing cat. I saw those flashes, startling at first, but I grew to understand my friend. Two years have gone by, and I still think of her often. I'm glad to have known her...

[Pacific Jewel]

Scott, I am sorry for you and your daughter's loss. Coping with loss is such a difficult task. Yet, there is no life without death. It goes hand in hand, however sad it is. It is truly amazing how animals weave themselves into the very essence of our hearts. They (usually) love unconditionally, and are beautiful companions.

Wishing you and your daughter comfort and peace during this trying time.