what a day, very sad!

I found out I can be strong even though I am a total emotional wreck usually.
Tonight two of my children were away babysitting, the other two were at home (middle schoolers) and my husband and I were at a party. We missed a couple of calls from our children, and then our pastor, who was also at the party, received a call from our house. Panic! Our dog had been hit by a car and my two boys were dealing with it. She made it home, but was on the steps bleeding. As it turns out, she had made it home to die, but meanwhile we had to get home to two very distressed boys who were afraid to check on her. I have four very upset children, but the one who is having the toughest time is my child who has depression (Maybe bipolar depending on which diagnosis we go with) and ocd. He can't accept the news, plus he was the one who had let the dog out.
I will eventually find my own time to grieve, but I am satisfied with the fact that my parent instincts are stronger than my depression instincts, and I have been there for my children.

I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved pet. yes, it is amazing how much stronger our parental instincts are to protect our children from hurt. Just make sure to take the time to care for yourself as well.

Hugs.

Thanks, Kaliope.
It's morning now, and neither my h nor I could sleep last night. We have planned some time today to talk about how our dog changed us as a family. She was a castoff who ended up at our house. She adopted us instead of the other way around. She loved us all, and could bring out the best in everyone. And she was so smart!

Fortunately my son's t will be able to see him tomorrow. I sent her an email last night and she answered right away. Unfortunately, though, our family is not so strong because of the mental disorders we have, and we will have a tough time weathering this. I already have failed in that I drank every bit of alcohol that was in our house last night. My h went into yelling mode, angry at me for whatever reason (probably the drinking although he won't say that). My son cried himself to sleep on the couch next to me. Fortunately, the other three kids managed to make it to bed in a normal fashion, but the second son who was here when it happened came downstairs crying just now.
I will take my children to church in a couple of hours while my husband buries the dog. Hopefully they will find some comfort there. I won't find comfort, I just pretend to be faithful so that I don't mess up my children's chances to find peace in believing in a higher power.
I try very hard to give my children the childhood memories I used to fantasize about as a child.