Life, Love, and Letting go

Let me start off by saying that I have never NEVER been good with goodbyes, ever. That whole "letting go" thing is a difficult concept for me.
That being said..
Today I am saying goodbye and letting go of a small life that has been in my care for just about the past 6 years. Her name is Clyde, and those of you who have followed my photographs over the years will recognize her as my African Leopard Tortoise.
...and although I love her very much, and I have found her to be excellent company, she's going off to a better home today. A home that will give her the winter habitat and diet that she needs, and hopefully they will see in her the personality that I have come to love dearly.
Making this decision is beyond hard, it would be selfish and wrong for me to keep her just because I happen to love her but can't provide well for her.
It is because I love her and respect her life that she is finding a new family.
and I... I am... going to let her go.
We have learned a lot about life and love over the past year, and maybe a little bit about letting go. We have had friends going through terrible situations and there's nothing we can do to help.
This is all that I have learned and maybe it's a lot, that the one you love may have come to you damaged and no matter how tenderly you hold them, how willing you are to keep them safe, and to love them... they may still fly away. But love is being able to let them go and hoping that while they were there that you helped them to be a better more complete person.