Roxanne the Dog Dies

 

Dear Jamie, 

 

Your mom will tell you that I died peacefully in my sleep on the night of March 11th.  I knew this would be a hard transition for you and I didn’t want to see you cry.  I just acted perfectly normal and decided to step out while my body was sleeping.

 

Someday you will see death for what it really is.  It is just like walking through a door.  We are just as alive on the other side, but we keep coming back to the game, because we love it so.  We pick out a costume and a role often get so into the part that we forget who we really are.  I am back in the game already.  You just haven’t recognized me yet.

 

Your mom buried me outside the fence, under the Bougainvillea bush, in keeping with the tradition you guys have of bringing life from death.  I live again in the fuchsia flowers, but that is just the life that springs from my old costume.  My real essence is in the wind on your face and the thoughts in your head.  She thought that given your propensity for symbolism, that it made sense to bury me outside the fence, because I used to jump the fence all the time, when my body was younger.

 

I taught you how to care deeply for others by my escapades.  Those lessons were tough, but they made you tougher.  I served a purpose in your life as a little girl, but you are so grown up now, and I am so proud to be your friend.

 

We have so much work to do now.  There is so much joy and abundance ahead of us.  You will recognize me in a passing stranger, in an awe inspiring sunset, in an injured creature that finds their way to you, in a clever thought that you may think is your own.  We are not confined to these costumes, even while we are wearing them.  I am everywhere, just like you are in your dream state and like you will be in your waking state as you awaken to all that you are capable of.  I’ll always love you, Roxanne