It’s been a while since we got back from our trip, and I never wrote about our time in Singapore, but before I do that, I have to share the grief we both feel at the loss of our constant companion, Maggie (Princess Margaret). For any of you who knew her, she was fiercely protective of me and David, but mostly David. She used to sleep on the floor outside our bedroom so she could keep an eye on David while he did his needlepoint and keep track of me in the living room and kitchen. I can’t get used to it being so quiet.

In October, she was having some bowel issues, and took her to the vet. After some tests, we found out that she had a mass on her liver. A large mass (3/4 of her liver), so we knew that her days were numbered. She was pretty good until a few months ago. She was doing unusual things like sleeping in the closet, taking rugs and mushing them up, and one night, a few weeks ago, she slept in bed with me (which she never does). On Tuesday, it became clear that the time had come, and she left us.

Well, that was a draft that I started in the spring, but I thought I should post it.