Thanks for bearing with me as I use this space to gush about the amazing people and pets in my life. While I don’t enjoy writing posts about loved ones who have left us, it is nice to have this platform as another way to remember them. Plus, after I post these entries, your positivity always brightens my day. So thank you for understanding when and why I put these posts up. I appreciate it and I know my family does too.

My Grandma passed away this week. She was a really awesome woman. I’m mentioning her on here (I have had a few family members pass away since this blog was created, but I haven’t necessarily dedicated a whole post to them) because she was one of my biggest cheerleaders for this blog. She loved reading my posts every day, and would often email me about them. She also enjoyed sending me newspaper clippings, and after I started the blog the clippings went from being about horses to being about animal rescue. She loved what I was doing and made it clear how proud she was of me – and I so appreciated that. Do you remember the note Otis wrote to her in January? That talks a bit more about our relationship and her love for my fosters.

It seems I was merely following in her footsteps, though. As someone who believed in sticking up for causes she was passionate about, my Grandma was quite a feisty lady. When her assisted living community began making the staff cover up their tattoos, Grandma, at the age of 78, went out and got one herself just to make a statement. How cool is that? If I had guts like her I probably would have gotten myself into a bit of trouble by now :-).

She lived in Oregon so this blog was often the way we stayed in touch in between phone calls and emails – and for that I am extremely grateful.  I will certainly miss her humor and wit, but I know she will be following this blog in spirit. Love you, Grandma!