2.3.23 // 7 Years of Scout

7 years.
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This weekend, February 5th, we celebrate 7 years together.
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I'll admit, 7 years ago, you were not the most "logical" or "sound" choice as a 25-year-old who lived on the 8th floor of a Washington D.C. apartment building located on one of the busiest roads in Georgetown. Getting a puppy was, by all means, a "dumb decision."
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And when I drove down to the middle of nowhere Virginia, I was "just going to look." Your ​original ​name was "smiley" and when I saw you my heart melted.​ ​I knew you were mine.
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Our first meeting was timid but you were more independent than I expected. You strutted around confidently on your 4-inch furry legs. You were curious, inspecting each blade of grass, flower, or shoelace you came across.​ ​I knew you were mine.
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We took our first road trip only a few weeks into our relationship. I rented a car and we drove to Philadelphia, where you rode in the front seat in a box. We looked at each other and I kept a hand on you the whole time. I knew I was yours.
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We made our first big move from DC to Tennessee. I packed up my studio as you sat on boxes and watched intently with consistent skepticism. But as we left DC, I rolled down the windows and we listened to James Taylor on repeat. You held me in my fears. I knew I was yours.
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Then we moved again, and again, and again. Tennessee to San Francisco, SF to Minneapolis (I'm still so sorry about that), Minneapolis to TN, TN to the wild open road of America. Then to Canada. Now to Oregon. I know the open road feels like home to both of us so you look at me with less skepticism, and I know you trust me. But, through each of these moves, we knew we were each others.
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We've done a lot in 7 years. Both of us living hundreds, if not thousands of little lives between each year. But three consistents were always the same: you are mine, I am yours, and we are each others.
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What could have been seen as a "dumb" decision, was one of my greatest. What luck and gratitude I have to be granted a matching piece of my soul in the form of a golden puffball who barks at strangers and has no sense of personal space.
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Happy 7th Birthday, Scout.
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Here's to many more lives lived together!