Our trip home was a bittersweet one. We love seeing our family and friends. I was fortunate enough to have both of my grandparents from Wichita and Scottsdale come to visit. Brad and I got our fix of Mexican food in from various restaurants and my Mom's amazing cooking. (I think we went to Chipotle almost once a day while we were back!)
We also got to see our (now) 6 month old niece, Ziah. For me, she is going to be the biggest marker of us being gone for a year. Already since the time we left in the beginning of February, she has started to laugh, learned to roll over, started eating baby food, and obviously grew a bunch and developed more of a personality. (She has also started crawling since we've left.) It will be amazing to come home and see her walking and speaking! She is a beautiful little girl and Brad and I are going to miss seeing all of her "mile markers".
Our short trip was also marked by sadness. On Tuesday, March 16, we had to my amazing dog, friend, and brother Jack, to sleep after his battle with cancer.
Jack had been such a steadfast part of my life for the past 11 years. Our family friend, Rich's dog had Jack's litter of puppies and therefore I got to hold Jack when he was only a week old. When it was time to come home he slept in my room not only because I wanted him to but also because I was the only one who could sleep through his snoring. He was the first person I saw in the morning, first thing I saw at the end of the school day in middle school, my running buddy during training in high school, the person that I shared my feeling with when I just needed someone to listen, and the person who could make me laugh when almost nothing else could. He was my shadow, following me around the house whenever I was home. He lived for getting the paper in the morning, pouncing and skidding across the pavement sometimes making the first few pages unreadable, dropping it at your feet and then racing to back of the house where he would jump up and down on his front feet until he was fed (which he could scarf down in less than a minute).
He loved rolling on his back in the grass and rubbing his face in the snow. He knew exactly where the treats were whether it be ice cubes or the real thing. Brad taught him how to roll over a couple years ago, and since then whenever Brad would get a treat for him, he would roll over before Brad even said anything. He loved chasing my brother around the living room and kitchen table making the most ridiculous noises. He loved going hunting with my Dad, one time eating an entire dove that made his stomach hurt so much that he could barely get out of the car and passed out in our family room for two days. He would follow my Mom around in the kitchen trying to get all the scraps he could off of the floor, one time even snatching raw steaks thawing on the counter when he was a puppy. But most of all he was there for all of us and made each and every person feel special. I'm really glad that I got to see him one last time.
Jack had been such a steadfast part of my life for the past 11 years. Our family friend, Rich's dog had Jack's litter of puppies and therefore I got to hold Jack when he was only a week old. When it was time to come home he slept in my room not only because I wanted him to but also because I was the only one who could sleep through his snoring. He was the first person I saw in the morning, first thing I saw at the end of the school day in middle school, my running buddy during training in high school, the person that I shared my feeling with when I just needed someone to listen, and the person who could make me laugh when almost nothing else could. He was my shadow, following me around the house whenever I was home. He lived for getting the paper in the morning, pouncing and skidding across the pavement sometimes making the first few pages unreadable, dropping it at your feet and then racing to back of the house where he would jump up and down on his front feet until he was fed (which he could scarf down in less than a minute).
He loved rolling on his back in the grass and rubbing his face in the snow. He knew exactly where the treats were whether it be ice cubes or the real thing. Brad taught him how to roll over a couple years ago, and since then whenever Brad would get a treat for him, he would roll over before Brad even said anything. He loved chasing my brother around the living room and kitchen table making the most ridiculous noises. He loved going hunting with my Dad, one time eating an entire dove that made his stomach hurt so much that he could barely get out of the car and passed out in our family room for two days. He would follow my Mom around in the kitchen trying to get all the scraps he could off of the floor, one time even snatching raw steaks thawing on the counter when he was a puppy. But most of all he was there for all of us and made each and every person feel special. I'm really glad that I got to see him one last time.
We are going to miss everyone so much and we were glad to see them for a short while, but we are also very excited to live here in Japan. It will be fun to see what it has in store for us!
It was GREAT to see you. What a tribute to Jack. He was well-loved!
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