Closing, Chaos, and Counting Blessings

Today, we closed the doors at Whittle Bird Coffee + Kitchen for the very last time. I’ll be honest—it was hard. There’s something surreal about turning the key and knowing it’s the end of a chapter. But as I looked around at the faces of friends, neighbors, and regulars, I realized just how much this little shop meant to our community. When we first came to Maine, we never imagined we’d open a coffee shop, let alone one that would become a gathering place for so many wonderful people. The past couple of years have been tough, but I’m so grateful for every moment.

After a marathon of goodbyes (and more hugs than I’ve had in a year), I was completely exhausted. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not exactly an extrovert—people are great, but they do wear me out! I’m not much of a napper either (I always feel like I’m missing out on precious time), but by the end of the day, all I wanted was to crawl into the RV, put on my comfiest clothes, and either watch a movie or get lost in a book.

That was the plan, anyway.

Instead, when we opened the RV door, we were greeted by what can only be described as a murder scene. Harvey, our sweet dog, had been neutered on Tuesday and seemed to be healing well. I thought it would be safe to leave him for a few hours while we closed up the shop. I was wrong. Very wrong.

There was so much blood! At first, we thought he’d ripped out his stitches. Cue the frantic rush to the emergency vet (and let’s just say Chris was not observing the speed limit). After a tense hour, we learned Harvey hadn’t torn his stitches—he’d developed a hematoma and was hemorrhaging. Apparently, this is a rare complication of neutering, and wouldn’t you know it, Harvey is one of the lucky 16%. This poor dog! In his not-quite-three years, he’s broken his leg so badly it needed surgery and pins, survived a virus that could have been fatal, lost his best friend Scarlett, and now this. If anyone deserves a break, it’s Harvey.

What made it even harder was having to return to the same emergency vet where we said goodbye to our beautiful girl Scarlett just a year ago. I never wanted to set foot in that place again, but there we were, in the same room, hoping for a better outcome.

Despite all the chaos and heartache, I wouldn’t trade any of it. Harvey and Scarlett have brought so much joy into our lives, and even on the hardest days, I’m grateful for every wag, every cuddle, and every memory.

So, that was our wild, emotional, exhausting day. My "something good" for today is that Harvey should make a full recovery with some antibiotics and lots of rest. My new rug, on the other hand… well, let’s just say it’s seen better days!

Here’s to new beginnings, old friends, and the dogs who keep us on our toes (and keep our hearts full) Harvey would not appreciate me sharing this but he was too cute sporting his new E-collar not to share!