Anyone can carry his burden, however heavy, until nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely, until the sun goes down. And this is all that life really means.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Bailey, Stu and I have been writing our adventure story together for the past two years. The three of us are adventure buddies and together we’re unstoppable. We sneak away together quietly as the city sleeps to watch the sun rise over the Golden Gate Bridge, in the calmest of calm, before even the sun pokes up its sleepy head. We hike to the top of mountains to take in the deep greens and rich blues and breathe in deep breaths of the crisp mountain air that fill my lungs and soul with the deepest happiness. Stu and Bailey will bound ahead as I walk behind them taking it in and thinking how lucky I am to have found my two kindred spirits, my adventure buddies. I not-so-secretly delight in the fact that if I walk a little more slowly, Bailey is guaranteed to come trotting back to me to check in and lead me to the adventures ahead. Though we dart out of bed before the sun to take in the day, we know and love the value of slowing down. I’ve been lucky to share the tranquility of many sunsets with these two, the most beautiful kiss on the head of a drowsy day before tucking it away to sleep. When the three of us are standing on the top of a mountain or sitting alone on a beach as the sea swallows the sun or standing at the bottom of Yosemite Valley, looking up at mountains and trees and night sky which fades into infinity, I feel so humbled and content to have found my place in this great, beautiful world.
When we found out our adventure pup had osteosarcoma we were shocked. Our Bailey girl is not even three, though her two years have been the best two of my life. Bailey had been limping slightly, but being the active pup she is, we didn’t think too much of it at first. There was no pain when you touched her leg and nothing felt broken. We thought it was a routine vet visit and we’d find out she had twisted it in a wrestling match with a friend at the park. I wish I could have been there with Stu when he found out that wasn’t the case. We found out on June 4th that our baby girl had cancer- Stu’s mother’s birthday and the day when my brother and his wife gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy. That moment, for me, is when our new chapter began.
