One year after last post

Time flies like an arrow and fruit flies like a bannana

You'd think that with more than a year's worth of puppy stories stored up, my fingers would be flying over the keyboard anxious to describe the bits and bytes of a dog's life in an all too-human house, but they're not. Instead, they stumble and stretch to find the letters that will make the words that will tell the story of our last year together.

The hightlights:

• A resignation
• A manic climb into psychological distress
• A hospital stay
• A new job

Of course, Root Beer wasn't the protaganist in any of these dramas. Instead, they're stories from the human side of the family. Mental illness, a family favourite, joined us last summer to entertain us with sleepless nights, unwarranted mood swings and unexpected anger.

Root Beer was an anchor of calm while we road on the waves of severe emotional distress. She comforted each family member as we reacted or acted depending on who was experiencing what. I took her for long walks just to get out of the house and Luke spent many frantic minutes patting her as he struggled to find calm.

Time passed. The walks grew shorter and the stillness that happens after a storm passes lasted longer,

I accepted a new job. It's tough but I'm enjoying the learning.

School started and routine rentered our home.

Now, Root Beer looks to the front door with big brown eyes waiting for someone or something new to come in, but I'm okay with waiting because my normal is now routine.