Category: beagles
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Twenty Twenty Thrive
I’ve historically been the goal-setting type, excited about the fresh feeling of a new year. But as we welcome 2025, I don’t feel my usual level of enthusiasm. I’d typically read too much into that, trying to dissect the “why,” but I’ve decided to instead use one of my least favorite phrases: it is what…
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Joyful June: I Broke Myself
As May drew to an end, I decided I wanted to approach June with a different perspective. Having become increasingly bogged down by the ins and outs of daily life, I liked the thought of making a conscious effort to look for the joy that exists in each day. And, if I had trouble finding…
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At therapy this morning…
“At therapy this morning” seems like a quick, somewhat cheap way to capture someone’s attention. But it just so happens to be an accurate line to start the post I’ve come here to write. At therapy this morning, I said today’s date, April 3rd, out loud. I can’t recall the reason, but as the words…
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2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu
Little memories of Ramón pop into my mind on an almost daily basis. Occasionally, though, one will surface from the darkest depths of my mind—things I haven’t thought about since they were present moments. One of these memories emerged last week, and, although it made me emotional, I was grateful for its reappearance. If I…
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Cuddle parties and self-care
Have you ever heard of a Cuddle Party? I’m not referring to my status when I’m on the couch in a pile of beagles. Instead, I’m talking about a capital-C Cuddle, capital-P Party, which is a term I recently learned while reading Melissa Febos’s book, Girlhood. Cuddle Parties were created to “promote and enable empowered…
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Bursting bubbles (in a good way)
I’d never heard of H Mart when I met Ramón in 2011, but it soon became an integral part of our relationship. H Mart is a Korean grocery store that has its own food court. I’m not sure if Ramón’s Korean-ness led him to H Mart or if it was because the store was only…
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Take that, Labor Day
I spent many Labor Days in the hospital in my early 20s. As the seasons began to change, my lungs would get angry, leading to a cystic fibrosis exacerbation. It was Me vs. Ragweed, and I often tapped out first. Although it makes me a wee-bit nervous to say it, this is the best I’ve…
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Give paws for thought
Meditation gets a bad rap sometimes. People view it as being too woo-woo or out there, shutting down at the mere mention of words like mindfulness, Zen, or spirituality. And if you’re one of those people, I get it. I used to be in that group, too. I considered meditation impractical and even a waste…
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A semiperturbed post about a jack-in-the-box
Let me start off by saying I wrote the first draft of this post yesterday afternoon. As I worked on what I’m sure would have been a very clever and mind-blowing ending, an error message popped up on my computer saying, “Upload Failed.” I scrolled down to where I’d written the post, only to discover…
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OMGlennon
I am here with a proclamation: I became one of Glennon Doyle’s biggest fans over the past 24 hours. I first heard her name a month after Ramón died. I visited a good friend, Alyssa, for coffee, and we were waxing philosophical—or trying, at least. Alyssa referenced a quote about pain Glennon recently posted online…
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No caveat(s) needed
Today, as I sat on a bench in the backyard, I was overcome with gratitude. I admired a happy Noodle, a beautiful sky, plants in bloom, and this amazing little house that is home to my soul. I wanted to live forever in that moment. Life felt damn near perfect. And though my life has…
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What if my dog’s penis lands me a publisher?
“What if my dog’s penis lands me a publisher?” That thought had never crossed my mind—or anyone’s, I’d guess—until this week. Last weekend, while I vacationed to Asheville, the dogs took a trip to daycare. After returning to town Sunday and picking them up, I noticed that Benny, the little guy, had a swollen penis,…
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Days +12, 15, and 18
Day +12: A turtle’s pace – April 22, 2020 Though time has been moving at the speed of molasses, it’s moving, and that’s the most important part of this process. The testing they’ve been able to do while Ramón is sedated and intubated all looks quite positive. Until they can fully wake him, though, there…
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Live oak
I recently borrowed a memoir from the local library. It caught my eye instantly because it was called Marrow, a word that entered our vocabulary uninvited in May—without even a gentle knock. The book’s author, Elizabeth Lesser, is a perfect match for her sister who needs a bone marrow transplant. The sisters want to have…
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Yellow door
Earlier this year, we decided to paint the laundry room door a bright and cheerful yellow. Like most household projects, it ended up becoming way more complicated than originally anticipated. I sanded and scraped so much that my FitBit recognized it as outdoor cycling. Finally, on April 30, we installed the door and realized that…