CLASSIC: The Hardest Part is Letting Go
By Adam Uribes
· General
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· 2 min read
Check out this oldie, but goodie about dogs, Peyton Manning and saying goodbye.
It was a day like any other to everyone else, for it me it was the day that I had been dreading for months. That day, on Saturday in November, I was going to spend the last morning with my best friend in the world, my 15 year old Basset Hound, Fletcher. I was 27-years-old and I had spent the better part of my life with Fletcher at my side, keeping up with me as best as his stubby legs could carry him. Up until those last few months together, I couldn’t imagine my life without him. He had been there for so many good days and never left my side for any of the bad ones.
It was just a loss to everyone else, but for me it was the day that I had been dreading for the last 3 years. That day, one Sunday in November, was going to have to the potential to be the last time I saw Peyton Manning look like Peyton Manning. For the last 3 years, I’ve been spoiled to see greatness embodied. I’ve seen 55 touchdowns. I’ve been there live for 7 TDs in a game and 500 for a career. I am 32-years-old and I was able to watch from a front row seat, one of the best to ever to play the position. Up until last year, I couldn’t have imagined life without him as my team’s quarterback. He has been the reason for so many good days and conversely, not so many bad ones.
It stared a year before; Fletcher had stopped being Fletcher. His happy “Homer Dance” for food had now been replaced for a weak hobble to his food dish and back to his favorite spot on the basement floor, curled up as comfortably as his aching joint would let him be anymore. He was practically blind from lipids that had developed in his eyes. He could barely hear. He would fall down for no reason. I would get comments from people all the time that my dog always looked happy, just so happy, and now he just looked tired. Friends and family would try to tell me that the end may be near for Fletcher and I adamantly said “No”. “He’s fine”, I would snap. He’s just not feeling very good, he doesn’t like the cold. As soon as it warms up, he will be fine. But, he was wasting away; you could see his ribs and shoulder blades, even though he was eating almost 4 times a day. Fletcher was sick in a way no vet or myself could fix, and I refused to believe it.
It had started in a game in St. Louis a year before, when Peyton stopped being Peyton. His normal fist pumps and the businesslike way he had played the game, was now replaced by wobbly, errant passes to receivers that weren’t open. He was practically a statue in the pocket anymore, the torn quad at the end of last year and torn plantar fasciitis at the start of this year, had robbed him of any mobility he had left. He would just fall down now as soon as the rush would get too close. Peyton Manning no longer looks happy or concerned anymore. Friends and family now keep telling me that the end is near and adamantly say “No!”. “He’s fine”, I would snap. He just getting used to a new offense. He just needs more reps behind this offensive line; he just needs to run game to develop to help him out a bit. But you can see he’s wasting away: you can see it his walk and he eyes now, even though for 39-years-old, he is great physical condition. Peyton Manning is hurt in a way no doctor can fix and I refused to believe it.
On that day in November, I said goodbye to my best friend. For all the heartbreaks I went through, all the sleepless nights where sleep was hard to hold to, I felt it was my duty to scratch his ears and rub his stomach and comfort him like all the times he thoughtlessly had done for me. I did so because I know I loved him and he would continue loving me in pain unless I released him from that. I cried, but I know that he’s in a better place where he can sniff and track all day and rest under the shade of his favorite bush when he’s tired. To this day I remember him, love him and cherish all the time we had together. But, it was time to move on, even though it hurt.
On that day in November, I said goodbye to my quarterback. I did so because I am thankful for all the happiness he’s brought to me in these last 3 years, all the while knowing the best way he can help this team win is to help Brock Osweiler get ready to lead this team on Sundays from this point on. I will always love and cherish the time I got to see him do his thing because so few could say they saw the great Peyton Manning do his thing. But, it was time to move on, even though it hurts.
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