June 12 is Valentine's Day in Brazil.
We said good-bye to Ella on an ordinary day in Canada and Love Day in my home country.
Image: Backyard Summer 2025
I cannot let escape from me that how I make meaning is intertwined with different cultural dimensions.
Her breed was American Eskimo.
Ella disputed her breed to tell us she liked the sun and warmth.
We called her a Brazilian Eskimo.
Loving her wasn't always easy. She was loud and it bothered me. It also helped me understand why my loudness bothers others.
It felt unexpected and rushed saying good-bye to her.
It was my own lived experience of accepting what was available instead of waiting for what I thought was ideal.
As a default clinician, in the rush of the moment, it was easy to make a decision that I cannot revisit - this is at the core of clinical work.
Clinical decisions, even when they can be revisited - linger.
Living with what is available means to me learning to live with "good enough".
Sometimes "good enough" is easy to live with.
Sometimes "good enough" leads us into different categories of emotions.
Clinical work requires awareness of the impact of "good enough" on ourselves and on those we serve.
Ella Einstein Bishop is deeply missed yet forever loved.