This week we received Martin’s ashes back. Even though I am crying less frequently now several weeks after his passing, I still have those random moments when the tears flood my face at the drop of a hat. Sigh. Grieving sucks. I’m still not sleeping well. Oftentimes, when I wake in the middle of the night, I swear I hear moving about the house. Mind you, his doggie bed was long moved out into the garage for storage, and the doggie door is all boarded up but I suppose those old habits really are hard to erase.

I received many sweet and thoughtful notes from friends and acquaintances who learned about his passing. One friend is gifting us a commissioned painting of Martin (with Remy if we want). I looked at the artist’s work. Her paintings are lovely. A few times, we’ve sat down to scroll through pictures to give to the artist, but the process of selecting is full of mixed emotions. I know that we gave them good lives, full of adventure and love, but reflecting on so many of our life’s journeys that we shared with them makes me miss that life even more. Sometimes I think about couples who lose a child– so many times, you hear that the marriages don’t survive the loss. It’s weird to think that J and I have never truly lived alone– with just us. From the time that we officially started cohabitation, Remy was already there warming our shared home.

I suppose, if there’s any good news in my pain, my donation drive is going well. About fifteen people have gifted items in Martin’s memory, with more to come. I was really happy too to hear this week from two of my favorite Rover clients. In the next several weeks, I will reunite with both Cody (the corgi) and Ramona (Kidney Bean). In fact, Ramona will stay with us for 18 days in February… a super long stint (and at holiday rates!!). She’s a stinky pup, but I love her nonetheless. I’m thrilled that I will see them both again soon.

In other dog-related news: my Rover biz is heating up in the new year! I met a very nice couple from the UK (London) who have a very young but well-behaved shiba-corgi mix. I actually think he’s more of a chihuahua mix. They have him with me in daycare. It’s funny, bc he really doesn’t need to be in daycare, but they have no qualms having him with us so he gets midday breaks and isn’t holed up in the apartment. I’m happy to oblige. Later this month, the German lady K with the long-haired whippet is also wanting to resume daycare with us. Interestingly, our friend A (who invited us to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl) just started a new job and K is her boss! Small world, right?

So I’ll have a new Rover client for MLK holiday, Cody for a night, and then Ramona next month! Yay for puppies!