Yesterday was bad. Like I said, the last three months have been a roller coaster of really bad days punctuated, thankfully, by some respite. Last week on Friday, I was almost as sick as I was yesterday, lying in the same bed, looking out the same window, feeling the same despondency. But I woke up on Saturday feeling so much better. In my healthy life, I couldn’t have believed how quickly an illness could change. You really can be talking about ending it all one day and laughing with your dogs the next. It makes it seem a bit girl-who-cried-wolf, but it’s not, I promise. The bad is that bad and the good, although not that good, is so extremely, completely, acutely appreciated.

So last Saturday… It was freezing, but blue skies and sunny. I’d been inside for weeks and I was feeling very “I’m out of bed! Hello? I feel better! Anyone there? Quick, someone take me somewhere!” My husband was out with friends, my mother and aunt were eating Italian food in a restaurant in Dublin, my best friend was having dinner in our friends’ house in Dublin, my sister was on the town in Paris… I told myself, You were so sick yesterday, you just need to rest , but everyone was doing fun things and I wanted to, too, dammit! So I loaded my dogs into the car and drove (for the first time in months) to the dog park. We only stayed half an hour and I was on alert the whole time, knowing that if they got into an altercation, I would destroy myself breaking it up, but… I did it. And chatted to TWO people. It was great. Here’s evidence:

The next day… I still felt okay! So we went to my favourite place, the cemetery. I rode my scooter and my husband cycled my his bike and the boys ran and ran with big grins on their faces. My nose was running and my fingers were bloodless and numb, but it was so sorely needed. Here are a selection of cemetery shots from the last four months:

Bowie in August.

Riley in September.

Bowie in September.

Bowie in October.

Boys in October.

SQUIRREL!!

Bowie in November.

Bowie in November at dusk.

Riley in November at dusk (he usually moves too fast for me to get a photo of him).

Bowie in December.

Where’s Daddy going?

I couldn’t leave this blog festering in the bad of yesterday. My friends are so caring and feel so deeply — thank you to those that have left me messages of support. It means a great deal that you can still offer compassion after all this time.