When we first went to fetch our tiny little puppy on a chilly, grey day at Cape Town’s airport, I could never have imagined the impact this big-named beauty would have on my life. General Maximus Rex Jurgensen. At the time, his name was longer than he was!
Over the years, Max became our constant. He was an easy dog — not overly active, not demanding, not loud. Max had a soft presence. Every day, he would send a choir of pigeons fluttering from our backyard at lunchtime, leaving behind their white signatures. Eish and Mommy was always upset 😊
Max wasn’t any trouble. He was just... there. Until he wasn’t.
Losing Max changed me in ways I didn’t expect. The unexpected nature of it hit hard, and I found myself navigating big, raw emotions I hadn’t prepared for. That’s often how it goes with grief; we’re left to face emotions we didn’t know we’d have to, feeling things we didn’t see coming. And that’s really what Max and Me is about: emotions.
Max was my guide in this journey, teaching me to honour my feelings and to make space for them. Emotions can be intimidating because they ask us to feel — to feel fully and without holding back. We can’t escape them; they won’t leave until we face them. And facing them means feeling them.
Max and Me is about taking that brave step to feel what comes up. I invite you to join me on this journey — to feel and explore your emotions as we create a world where kids, too, can learn that emotions are a natural, essential part of life. We’ll start by acknowledging our feelings, identifying and naming them, understanding their origins, and exploring healthy ways to cope.
There will be days when we have all the energy to engage, and other days when we don’t. But I believe that if we can plot this emotional landscape, we’ll find it less overwhelming. Because here’s the truth: we all feel. And thank heavens we do!
So, let’s start early, equipping our kids to understand their feelings and embrace them as part of life. Max has shown me that the courage to feel is the courage to live. And now, through Max and Me, I hope to guide others — through colourful images, gentle stories, and creative games — toward embracing what makes and keeps us human.
Together with Max, Mr. P, and all the characters who will emerge in the coming months, let’s embrace feeling. Because to feel is to breath, and to breathe to live. Let’s be gracious and brave and give ourselves Room to Breathe — a space for this generation to pause, find peace, and learn to feel again.
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