Today… this day, one year in the past… It was a scary, scary day and I cried so many tears. But because I was brave enough to go forward with Rio’s surgery, instead of the 6 weeks to 2 months the oncologist said I’d be lucky to get, I got 11 months, 1 week and 5 days. Those days were filled with ups and downs, good times and bad, but we made the most of them. We shared smiles and tears, sometimes both at the same time. We fell, but then picked ourselves up and kept going.
In the last year of Rio’s life, I think we squeezed in more adventures and more living than we did in the first 11. We took more photos. We shared more ice cream and hamburgers. We went to the beach. We snuggled on the couch. I learned not to take even a brief moment for granted. You’ve got time for one more ear skritchy, one more nose smooch, one more belly rub and one more “I love you.” Take advantage of that time, because life is capricious and there are no guarantees.
To celebrate her life, her spirit and her memory, I made a video scrapbook of my girl. I hope it makes you smile as much as she did me!