Ha det bra! Saying goodbye in any language is sad.

The literal translation of ha det bra is “have it good.”  That’s “goodbye” in Norwegian.

And all too soon we will be bidding “ha det bra” to our friend, Maddie who will be leaving London to live in Oslo.Maddie is a neighbour and we see her quite often. Sometimes she goes on walks with us Sometimes she stays over She’s just happy lying there in her bed looking at Mummy. She’s a very considerate guest. Unlike Charlie who jumps on top of Mummy at bedtime and takes over our space, Maddie, sleeps in her own bed on the floor.And we dine together.When George isn’t hanging out with Jaffa, he’s with his other girl, Maddie.   Maddie’s his “older woman.” Their relationship is more mature, not as turbulent as George and Jaffa’s.You see, Maddie is the quiet sort and she calms George.  They spend a lot of time together.

Sometimes they just sit together and have little chats about their previous lives. George tells Maddie about his earlier life in Hungary – how different life was. He never wore a collar and he ran freely, going wherever he wanted to. But the downside was that he needed to find food to keep from hunger and sometimes he couldn’t find shelter.  And Maddie would tell George about her life in America before she came to live in London with her Mummy.  She lived in sunny California and life was cool.  George told Maddie that he’ll be going to New York City soon. And he’ll be meeting our cousin, Molly who is also a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel – like Maddie! 🙂

We’ve known Maddie before her mummy got married. We’ve known Maddie when she was the only-dog and now she has a hooman brother.  Maddie hangs out with our friends.She is one of our gang.Ha det bra, Maddie!  You might miss sunny England! 🙂But we’re sending you to Oslo with your very own red Equafleece! You look good in red, Maddie!Soon all those Norwegian “hunds” will be wanting one for themselves!

Saying goodbye in any language is sad. 🙁

May’s comment: Ha det bra, Maddie, Rachelle, Stefan, Max!  It won’t be the same walking around the neighbourhood knowing we won’t run into you on our walks.  I guess we’ll have to visit in Norway.I’m going to miss that cute little face with those big brown eyes!

We are very lucky to have such a lovely little group of doggies and owners on the streets where we live. We love running into each other and saying hello. But it is quite a transient neighbourhood – a lot of expats who come and go.  So when one of us move away, they leave a void. Always sad to say goodbye but thank goodness for social media – we’ll keep up with Maddie’s adventures on Instagram and Facebook!  And now we have a reason to visit Oslo.