It hasn’t been smooth sailing, but we made it through the week without our sweet Chance. It’s been strange moving throughout the house without my shadow. I’m not used to doing things like going to the bathroom alone. Our whole routine feels off. And I keep seeing the ghost of him in all his usuals spots—hiding behind the sofa pillow, begging next to the table, standing by sliding door, waiting to go out with me. Barley also seems a bit down. He lays by the door a lot, as if he’s waiting for Chance to walk back through. I think he’s lonely.

But by the end of the week, I was doing ok. My heart had stopped sinking with every reminder. Then today we got a sweet card in the mail from a friend and a card from the animal hospital with his nose print, and I cried all over again.

We miss him. But I imagine my Dad is taking good care of him. Maybe he’s snuggled up next to our cat, Sousi, waiting for us to be reunited. As sad as I am that he is gone, I’m really just so grateful that I saw his silly little face at the animal shelter and knew I needed to make him part of the family. We were so lucky.