So, I’m having a bad day.
Why? Because my basement looks like this:
After just surviving a basement flood that destroyed most of our basement, the sight of water in our basement bathroom (the only room that wasn’t damaged in the flood) had us panicking. It turns out the water line to our fridge failed and water began to pool in a heating duct in our basement ceiling. Once we noticed the damage we quickly turned off the water and ripped into the roof, removed the water and now we have fans running to dry out the areas we cannot reach. We will re-run the water line one night this week and we will repair the damaged ceiling within a week or two if all goes according to plan, hopefully all for less then $500.
And most importantly. thankfully, we noticed it before the new carpet or drywall that was just installed was destroyed. In fact, the damage is pretty minimal in the scheme of what could have been. And so this is the silver lining, and we are thankful!
That said, I hope I never see water on my basement floor again!!
So, because I’ve thrown myself a pity party and been somewhat grouchy all day today, I decided now would be a good time to share a few photos from our last week. For those who haven’t already figured it out, I can be a bit neurotic. I realized that I finished my 365 days of happy on the assumption that I didn’t screw up my numbering anywhere. So, just to be safe I took a few extra days of photos, because honestly what would a 365 days of happy photos album look like if I accidentally miscounted and ended up with 361 days of happy? Oh, I’d be mad!
So, here are my last few extra happy moments. I promise, these are the last of them. I will still take photos, I will still share photos sometimes, but these are the last official happy moment photos.
Extra Day 1: Who Doesn’t love playing with a top spin?
Extra Day 2: I joined a local vegetable co-op this summer. A very hippy thing for us, but I thought it sounded like a wonderful idea – local, organic veggies that I pick up once a week for the same price as the veggies I would buy at the grocery store. The only catch is that I have no idea what I will get each week. This was the first week, and much to my surprise they included these beautiful flowers! Needless to say, I’m excited for the next 16 weeks!
Extra Day 3: My favourite summer dress came out to enjoy a beautiful day.
Extra Day 4: Camping in the mountains again this weekend! We arrived in the pouring rain so tonight’s even snack was fresh peas in the pod while curled up in bed.
Extra Day 5: River fishing!! We had a blast as we avoided the rain until the end of the day, and even caught a few fish.
Extra Day 6: A stop at the Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that neither of us had visited before. We had a wonderful time exploring the site and wondering through the museum.
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I Googled how old my dog is in people years the other day.
BIG MISTAKE!
When will I ever learn that Google is not always my friend?!
As a large breed dog, at 5 years old she is evidently the equivalent of a 40 year old person.
In less then a year, at 6 years old, she will be considered a senior dog!
So, why does this matter?
I became irrationally afraid that my dog is going to die. Heck, I almost cried over the thought. I skipped over all the steps of slowing down and aging and went straight to not having her in my life. (As a side note she is perfectly healthy and happy and for all we know she could live to be 10 or even 15 years old).
I grew up with outdoor dogs and farm dogs. Oddly I had a purebred and registered Golden Retriever as an outdoor farm dog and now I have a rescue mixed breed mutt as an indoor, family dog.
But our giant rescue mutt, she’s the first dog to win over my heart this way. She is my 
first ever inside, member of the family dog. I now understand that there is a difference, and by living in our home she is literally a member of the family. And honestly she is as close to a child as I have. I know she’s not a human child, I get that, but she’s provided unconditional love and support for me through everything. Honestly, she is the as close to a child as I’ve had and she has such a special spot in my heart and our lives. When I’m hurt she’s there for me, whether its a migraine or a miscarriage, she’s been at my side. Literally, right at my side.
When I was pregnant, each and every time she was my most reliable two week wait symptom because she turned into my shadow and never put a paw on my stomach. She was literally my early pregnancy test, more reliable then first response.
When I’m sad she’s there to snuggle and to make me smile – if Mr. MPB would have let me I would have taken 365 happy day photos of just her. Heck, during our losses she became my constant source of support. She snuggled me when Mr. MPB couldn’t. And she found herself invited onto the couch with me whenever Mr. MPB left the house for any reason (i.e. work, groceries, mow the lawn, etc.). So now we still snuggle together on the couch when Mr. MPB isn’t home and now at night she sleeps in our bedroom right next to me (on the floor, there is no way I can handle fur in our bed – she sheds fur constantly).
When we eat dinner she now puts her head right at my feet just in case I drop something, which makes me laugh every single night.
When we watch TV, she snuggles into the tiny space between the couch and the coffee table, so she’s nice and close to us.
When I’m happy she’s there to make me extra happy with her silly antics and her playful ears. (She seriously has the cutest ears). 
Honestly, she’s an amazing dog and just thinking about her turning into a senior and slowing down does make me sad. I want to keep her just like she is now, forever. Can I do that? Has anyone invented a non-Frankenstein way?
I know, I know, she is going to age. But I still find it hard to believe that in less then a year she will be considered a senior dog. She still seems so young to me. It feels like just yesterday that we found each other.
And honestly, as sad as I am at the idea of her aging, I am super excited to spend more of 
our lives with her. I’m super excited to watch our children crawl all over her (assuming she doesn’t eat them, I ask her all the time not to and I’m hoping she’s listening). I’m super excited to play with her and walk with her for as many days as possible.
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My Perfect Breakdown 