2.5.22 // Happy Birthday, Scout!

Since February 5th, 2016, I've lived what feels like 1 million different lives.
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I've lived in Washington, D.C., Chattanooga, TN, San Francisco, CA. I've spent a pandemic lockdown in Knoxville, TN, an extended summer road-tripping to mountain towns across the United States and western Canada, then had most of last year living in Europe.
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I've fallen in love, more than once, had my heartbroken, and broken hearts. I've lived in apartment buildings, houses, the back of my car, Airbnbs, on friend's couches, BLM land, and campgrounds. Now I'm making a home in Squamish, British Columbia until the next exciting chapter begins.
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I feel like I've compressed lifetimes into mere moments.
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But throughout the short moments and the long, there has always been one unchanging part of my life that keeps me grounded when my grasp on which life I'm leading slips...
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Scout.
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February 5th, 2022 is Scout's 6th birthday and since this little fluff ball came into the world, she has shifted my entire being.
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But maybe you're thinking... "hmm Liz, you left Scout for months last year..." And let me be honest, the hurt from my time apart from Scout was always present deep in my heart. I didn't talk about it much last year because I couldn't. I barely talked about it with my family or Taylor, because the hurt was suffocating.
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And while I don't regret last year, I am human and there are moments from my 6 years with Scout that I am not proud of. But through those moments I've gained some pretty incredible insights from Scout like: play more, accidents happy, snuggle more, worry less, and the present moment is pretty damn sweet so enjoy it.
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I know that whatever stardust I was cut from, Scout was too. She is my shadow, a part of my soul, and a spirit guide for endless teachings on the beauty of loving through mistakes, the fun in endless curiosity, and how time, no matter how much we try, will continue to tick by.
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Happy 6th Birthday, Scout!