Life Lately January/February/March 2024

January, February, and March always seem to feel longer than they actually are and this year was no different. Despite this, I don't actually have too much to report beyond what I've shared already in other posts: Avalanche experiencing snow in January; WDW in January, February, and March; Avalanche getting skunked; Avalanche having surgery; getting artwork made of my mom's handwriting; and a trip to Canada. I also wrote a post back in January about the six month anniversary of my mom's death and here I am today, marking eight months since losing her. The passage of time and learning to live with unimaginable grief...there's so much I want to say and yet at the same time, what is there to say?

Enjoy the multitude of photos from these past three months:

he stole my spot, BUT he let me cover him
with a blanket, which has happened on only
two other occasions!

we took him to an outdoor light display
during the first week of January

he was very well behaved, but did not
like not being able to wander wherever he
pleased in order to sniff everything

this was a couple of days after the January snowfall
when all of the snow was melting...he was not pleased
and spent a lot of time just standing in the remaining
snow every time we took him outside

in a thrilling turn of events, we got some snow
overnight in mid-February

the forecast predicted it wouldn't last long,
so I kept checking out the window every half hour or so

at 2 am, I woke Avalanche up and took him
outside to play in the snow

we had the best time, just the two of us,
running around the yard in the middle of the night

when you live somewhere that rarely gets snow,
AND you're Canadian, AND you have a Husky,
this is just what you do

this was 11 am the next morning and neither
of us were happy that the snow didn't even last nine hours

we got a Lunar New Year gift in the mail

you better believe someone was very happy about it

C picked him up after our WDW trip and he was
as dramatic as usual

and then immediately fine
LOL

C was inside the restaurant picking up dinner
while Avalanche and I waited out on the patio

he howled and talked up a storm bc he could
see his human and did not understand
why he couldn't follow him inside

I can count the number of times Avalanche has been
left home alone in his 15 months with us on one hand,
but C had to run an errand and Avalanche handled it very well

when our niece and nephew visit, we put up a tent
in the family room for them to play in, and
Avalanche was pretty curious about it

he let us put my socks on him LOL

since Avalanche did so well the last time he was left alone,
C went to an appointment in the late afternoon and
I came home from school about 75 minutes later

all Avalanche did the entire time was stand around and howl!
so dramatic!

C's mom is known for her Smartie cookies
and she made some for us to bring home

she also made some for Avalanche
(minus the Smarties, of course)

and he loves them!

he spent one day at daycare and was making
a huge fuss in the car when I picked him up

literally 30 seconds later, he was absolutely fine...
he is quite a character

A few other random things to share:

I went to see Frozen - The Musical at the Kennedy Center
with one of my best friends and it was outstanding!

we did several Disney puzzles
(and by "we" I mean C did 99%
of them and I "helped") LOL

these ones are so beautiful that they are
almost worth framing, but I already have too many
pieces of Disney art and not enough wall space!

my niece and nephew introduced me to this very cool,
but quite complex Harry Potter game,
which is targeted for ages 11+ but they are only 6 and 4
and were absolutely killing it with their strategy!
(proud auntie and impressed teacher!)

Looking back on the past three months, I'm still struggling in some ways. I will never not feel my mom's absence, but I'm recognizing how often I hear her wise words and silly songs in my heart. In the last conversation we had, she told me repeatedly to "be happy" and I'm really trying. I'm working so hard on finding joy and being present in the moment in ways that I was not very good at before - I was always thinking about the next day, month, year, the next trip, the next school break. Not my best quality. So now, I focus on hearing her voice telling me to be happy and I'm trying to let those words guide me.

There were many happy moments over the past three months, but my favorite has to be when I took Avalanche outside to play in the snow at 2 am. He loved it and I loved that he loved it. I said many times that he's not lovey-dovey; he tolerates my affection - most of the time! - but is pretty reserved. Watching him frolic in the snow and run back and forth to me, almost like he couldn't actually believe what was happening, while wagging his tail, was magical for me. I'm ready for many more of these kinds of moments!

We leave tomorrow for our spring break trip and I'm super excited! While we've been so fortunate to be able to go to WDW so many times this school year as well as a weekend trip to Phoenix and three trips up to Canada, this will be our first international travel since July (and yes, I know Canada is technically international, but it's home, so it doesn't count)!

Happy Tails to you!