unconditional love

My heart goes out to a friend of mine that lost a family member this weekend. There wont be a big service, just a private gathering for immediate family at their home. Nobody will bring a covered dish or send flowers and life will just go on as usual this week. No hugs from aunts and uncles and no jokes from his best friend at work. Though the deceased lived a long and rewarding life, their will not be an obituary in the local paper. There wont be clothes to box up and send to Goodwill because this family member never wore them. He was a dog.
Man's best friend. Human's best friend. A love so pure that that it makes other humans jealous. "You love that damn dog more than you love me!" I've heard it before and I'm sure most other dog lovers have too. But it's different. It is unconditional love. A friend that will listen to you, literally hang on your ever word, even when you make no sense at all. A friend that waits all day for you to come home from work and is glad to see you even when your ass is perched on your shoulders and clearly visible to all. A true friend.
Several of my friends told me years ago, as they watched me dote on my dog, that once I had children I would know what real love was. That I would "put that dog outside and not think twice about it". That didn't happen. I love my daughter more than life itself, but I love my dog too. When she was born it just seemed like my family grew larger. More to love.
As I sit here and write this, I am being watched (with eyes closed) by a true friend of more than ten years. A friend that knows me as well as anyone I've ever known. A friend that misses my daughter, who is away at camp, as much as I do. A friend that knows what time PJ gets off work and worries when she runs late. A friend who's lifetime, when compared to mine, is just a blink of an eye. A flower that grows a beautiful bloom then fades back into the earth, leaving it's mark on us all. A true friend that continues to teach me about unconditional love.