Daisy, the Vered Counseling mascot, has passed.

She was over 20 years old, which means she was about 100 in human years.

Daisy saw me as a part of her.

Whatever I did, wherever I was, Daisy felt entitled to be right there.

My bed? Daisy’s bed.

My office? Daisy’s office.

My wife? Daisy’s wife.

I adopted Daisy when she was three months old. That’s having a Daisy-shaped appendage for over 20 years.

I’m not sure what life looks like without a Daisy.

I think that grief for Daisy is probably going to be similar to losing an appendage.

10, 30 years on, that leg ain’t growing back.

Life can (and probably will) be good, but it will never be the same.

Grief will get better, but it will never be “over.”

I have taken a few weeks off from work to “set the bone properly.”

I want to be fully present with my patients, and that means taking the time to heal.

As the owner of my own private practice, taking time off means no income.

If that’s the price of healing, then that’s the price I’m going to have to pay.

I think she survived as long as she did because she was filled with joy.

She spent every day exactly how she wanted, which was with me.

She loved me so deeply, so intensely, that I think I’m forever changed by it.

I know that whatever pain I feel, whatever hardship comes next, it will have been worth the joy of having a Daisy.