together again

It has been a sad few days for all the Sims family . . . again Colin is learning all too well about life and death. Sometimes I just don't know what to tell him and this time we had to discuss a new topic (cremation). Murphy was born in Germany and died in the US. It is hard to believe that just 9 years ago he came to live with us . . . of course I was very hesitant because I knew who would really be taking care of his needs BUT how can one say no to this sweet pup?

Of course Sean loved Murphy so much and of course Murphy did no wrong in his eyes . . .
But of course this is always what Murphy left me . . .
. . . there were also times when even the not so pet friendly Heidi would get some love from Murphy too . . .
. . . he really was like a big baby. And when this little boy was born, Murphy wasn't too sure what the heck was going on . . .


. . . but Colin and Murphy formed a bond. When Sean came home for R&R in July/August 2004, the two were always close by . . .


. . . he even figured out how to get on the trampoline with Colin and Sean too. I always wondered if Murphy knew something happened to Sean. Did he know he had died? Was he waiting for Sean to come see him again? Did he think Sean abandoned him? This was taken the last day they were together . . . the day before Sean headed back to Iraq . . .
Colin always loved when Murphy would come to visit . . . he asked about Murphy all the time, and I would tell him how much Murphy meant to his daddy and how much Sean just loved Murphy.
And while we did not get to see Murphy as much as we would have wished,
he was loved very much and well taken care of by the Sims . . . we are both going to miss your visits to our backyard. It has been hard for me in the fact it was one piece of Sean left behind . . . someone that Sean loved so much and yet he has left us too. I think Mr. Sims said it best when he wrote this yesterday . . . At 5:12 pm our beloved Murphy departed this world to meet his master and to run with him together through the Elysian Fields, a place in Greek mythology which is the final resting place of the heroic and virtuous.

Murphy was only 9 but lived a very good life. In the end it was cancer that he was not able to overcome. One of my fondest memories of Murphy was Sean teaching him to swim . . . well if by teaching you mean walking to the end of the dock and throwing him into the water. From that day forward we could not keep him out of water and Mr. Sims made sure he was able to go for a swim on his last days. We will all miss you Murphy, but we know there is one happy boy in heaven tonight too.

Murphy
June 12, 2001-March 25, 2011