1.13.21 // "the best year"

"This has been the best year of my life.
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Let me explain...
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Before this year, I spent hours and days alone. In the mornings my mom would leave for work and somedays she would work until it was way past sunset. I didn't mind, for the most part, I knew she was coming home eventually, and we had fun roommates who would take me out and play with me.
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But, this year has been better than I could have imagined.
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Now, Mom and I spend all of our time together. We went and visited Grandma (Nana Moo) for a few months last winter. I got so many cuddles, and mom says "way too many snacks," but I was in heaven. I also got to visit Grandpa, his loud chuckle and firm pets, were always so reassuring.
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Then we moved into a new house. My mom said we were in Knoxville for a while during something called a "pandemic." I didn't really know what that meant... but I now had a fenced-in backyard and a door to the outside that I could use ANY time. If this is a pandemic, it must be pretty damn great.
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After a while, Grandpa was going to sell the house, so we hit the road. I love the car, so I was excited about this change.
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Over the summer and fall, I made new friends from a distance (which is my preferred method anyway), I climbed mountains, and I swam, and I trail ran with mom.
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We've run countless miles together and while we moved during the summer and fall, it was the slowest moving I've ever seen Mom. We would stay in spots for a long time and I'd see her smile as she learned to love one place after another.
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We found content bliss and I think for the first time in a long time, Mom came back to me. She played and laughed like I hadn't seen since I was a puppy.
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I don't know how long things will be like this, but I know this past year has changed me and changed Mom in ways I don't think will be forgotten.”