A She Shed Reflection - She Stayed

I didn’t plan to record this.

But the house felt a little quieter… and I didn’t want to sit in that alone.

This week, Donna shares a She Shed Reflection after saying goodbye to her dog, Nelly — her constant through some of the biggest changes in her life.

This isn’t a conversation about loss in the way we usually talk about it.

It’s about the quiet kind of grief.
The kind that shows up in the small moments…
in routines, in spaces, in the things we’re not quite ready to put away.

It’s about unconditional love, presence, and the ones who stay beside us — even when everything else changes.

If you’ve ever lost a pet, or anything that quietly held you together for a while… this one will resonate.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Welcome to Sheep Shed Unfiltered. This is not a podcast for perfect women or polite conversation. This is for the women who've been divorced, dismissed, worked out, betrayed, and still somehow managed to show up, get shit done, and keep everyone else still alive. There'll be laughter, there may be tears, and you might even say, did they really say that shit? Just real women, real stories, and the kind of honesty that usually happens after the second glass of wine. Welcome to another She Shed Reflection. I didn't plan to record tonight. I just didn't really want to sit here by myself. As some of you know, this week I had to say goodbye to Nellie. And I don't even know if I have the right words for it yet. It's just quiet. Like everything in my house feels a little different. And it's funny, you don't realize how much a dog is part of your life until they're suddenly not there. Like everything reminds me of her right now. Even the little things. I still have her dishes in the kitchen. Her bed is still in the living room, exactly where it's always been. I picked up her toys and put them neatly in her toy box. But I can't bring myself to put them away. Like when do you put them away? If I do, then it's gonna feel real. Like, really real. And I'm just not quite ready for that. When we went to get a puppy, we thought we'd already picked one out through the pictures. I wasn't even sure I wanted a puppy. I really had my heart set on adopting an older dog. But the kids and my ex really wanted a puppy. And when we went to see all the puppies, Nellie just kept coming to me again and again, like she had already decided. And somehow I ended up being her person. In the six years I had her, a lot changed in my life. People left, things shifted. My life looks very different than it did back then. But Nellie didn't go anywhere. She was just always there beside me. And I think that's what's really hitting me now. You know, I thought she was staying close because she was taking care of me through everything that I had gone through this past year. And I think she was. But what I didn't know was that she was actually fighting her own battle the whole time. And she just still gave me everything. Love, comfort, companionship. She never left my side. And after her cancer diagnosis, I was gifted four more months with her. She came to work with me almost every day, walking around like she owned the place. She kind of did, had lunch with everybody or stole everyone's lunches. But she just made things lighter. And I think that's what's going, and I think that's what I'm going to miss the most. Just her being there. So I'm trying not to sit too much with the loss part of it. I'm trying to focus on how lucky I was to have her. Because not everyone gets something or someone that shows up for them like that. And she really did. Right until the end. Or honestly anything that just quietly held you together for a while, you probably get it. Things just feel a little heavier and a little quieter. And I just miss her. My sweet girl Nellie.

SPEAKER_00 4:55

This has been She Shed Unfiltered, where midlife isn't polished, it's real. From divorce and career pivots to perimenopause and everything no one warned us about. These are the honest conversations we've lived, survived, and shared with you today. Until next time, stay brave, be curious, and keep it unfiltered.