Almost A Year

We’re still here. We didn’t go anywhere. We just quit posting barks on BarkingProse for a while.

It’s because our Dad died and we really didn’t have words for what we were feeling.

Dad died almost a year ago. Cancer took him. He wasn’t ready to go but in the end he didn’t have a choice.

Lots of people were dying around the same time from Covid. That meant we couldn’t go anywhere and our family from Virginia couldn’t come see us.

We knew lots of people were concerned about us and they felt bad we couldn’t have a memorial service and do the normal stuff families do when there is a death.

That’s the way life is. You don’t always get to choose the outcome, but you can choose how you deal with it.

In some ways it was okay. Me and Journey spent lots of time with mom. Sometimes she was real sad and we had to sit on her and lick her face to make her laugh. Sometimes she was happy and we would go do stuff together.

The worst part was when the light started to go away in October. The dark months were hard, but we made the best of it. We took long walks in the cold and came home to a warm fire. Mom gave us extra treats around the holidays and we got to hang out with a few friends who weren’t so afraid of the virus.

In January the light began to return. Mom got vaccinated and suddenly the whole world felt different. We visited friends and went places. Mom took us to outdoor coffee shops where we lay real quiet under the table while she had coffee with her friends. Me and Journey noticed Mom was laughing more and didn’t seem so sad.

In April Mom told us she was going to fly to Virginia to see her east coast family. We were real happy for her but we knew it meant we had to stay at the kennel while she was gone.

The whole kennel experience was kinda funny. Me and Journey had to audition for a place. We had to show we had good manners and could play nice with the other dogs. Then we had to go to day camp a couple times so we could learn the rules. We both got A+ on our report cards and earned a place at the kennel so mom could take her trip.

It was hard being away from home for nearly two weeks. We missed Mom a lot and our other friends too, but the time went fast and one day Mom came and brought us home. Here’s us lounging on our first day home. You can see we were pretty tired.

Now it’s coming up on a year from the day our Dad died. Mom said it’s a sacred time and we need to be on our best behavior. She wants us to pay attention to BarkingProse and post more barks.

There’s a lot to tell about the past year and lots to look forward to in the year ahead. Don’t be worried about us anymore. Me and Journey will make sure Mom has plenty to laugh about. In fact Journey just brought her a dead mole. How sweet is that!