Proud

It's been a busy weekend but I make hiking with K a high priority even when life is busy. The tracks of a girl and her dog out for a wander in the woods...

When I saw these tracks, I was reminded of a person who used to hike with his elderly dog in the snowy forest near our house. I'd see their tracks just like the photo above almost every day. Then, one day, there were only the snowshoe tracks and no more dog tracks. That was a very sad day and and the memory seared my heart this weekend.

Okay, enough of the melancholy. K and I had lots of fun this weekend despite the chemotherapy drugs coursing through her system. We saw the sun rise on Saturday, and K glowed in its magic rays.

K stuck to me like glue during our hikes and kept gazing at my eyes. I am so lucky to have her by my side.

She didn't hesitate to romp though. I've noticed that, in the days after chemo, she romps during our walks and then sleeps very deeply for the rest of the day. I like her style!

She also dug holes during our hikes, with her head disappearing deep below the snow.

Thanks to those tracks that I showed you at the beginning of this post, R and the Runner tracked us down yesterday morning to join us for the second half of our hike. R burst onto the scene!

K played happily with her brother, zooming around while playing keep-away with a stick.

I'm improving in my ability to let K romp without having a panic attack with fear that she'll break her leg. Based on the crazy things that I've seen her do since her diagnosis, I think that the leg is stronger than I initially believed.

As our friend Bert said, seeing K's leg as she stands so strongly makes me incredibly proud of her. She may be missing a toe, have a radiation burn, and lack fur on that leg, but she still lives with unbelievable zest and love. She's an inspiration to me.