My best friend

We are now circling back to anniversaries of the past year, which was especially tough by most standards.  It seemed that a lot of what I looked to for security, health, contentment/complacency, or love/companionship was shaken or taken with a level of intensity that seemed very personal if the universe can be accused of such a thing.  It was a ravaging year.  I still miss her intensely.  I'm glad I can see her in this space that finally looks like a home; sitting near the back door waiting for errant dear and rabbit to molest with her barking, sitting in her yard on a hot day, catching smells with her nose, staring inside the house like a creepy boyfriend trying to determine where I was, knocking open the bathroom door to check on me and then flopping on the tile floor to keep me company while I was in there.  Animals are far better companions than people.  They are a chore but they are worth it.  They give far more than they require.  The accept you as is, their agenda is wholly transparent, and they bring untiring joy.  Every day I found joy or comfort in her.  Just watching her sleep, or the noise she made when you got that ear rub just right...  I marveled in how I never tired of her.  I didn't know I could love like that.  Every single day she made me laugh or smile.  No human has a track record like that.