May 2017 Aliveness

May was jam packed.
I follow a photographer named Andrew Knapp on instagram (@andrewknapp). He has a black and white border collie named Momo. He's done pretty well for himself snapping pictures of Momo hiding in random places and creating books of the photos, like a Where's Waldo book.
http://www.letsfindmomo.com/

Momo, Me and Nalu

I had responded to a message he had put out on instagram regarding people that had significant stories with their dogs. Nalu, my border collie, was in the passenger seat at the time of the crash. He was then taken in by my sister for the next two-three months while I was in recovery. I didn't realize how much that dog meant to me until he was gone.

Andrew Knapp met me at one of our favorite spots in Salt Lake called Memory Grove. We talked all about the accident, and about Nalu and what he means to me.
It came down to this for me during that interview--Nalu had saved me. Mostly from myself, and my slow sinking into a chasm of sadness and loneliness. Dramatic, I know. But this sweet pup gave me purpose and brought so much sunshine into my life. I was so grateful to Andrew for asking about Nalu. He's the first person that really brought to the surface how important to me it was that my boy Nalu had survived.
To some, he's just a dog. To me, he has become my world.
He keeps me going. He gets me out of the house and up those mountains. Unconditional love from a dog is pretty powerful.

May also brought on a paid for flight to AZ for fun, a trip to WI for work, and was wrapped up with an awesome first time trip to the Grand Canyon over Memorial Day.

I am taking full advantage of my alive-ness (I think I just made up that word, and I like it).

Make Them Gold by CHVRCHES