Athena finished her 11th journey around the sun the other day. Her muzzle is going white. She moves a little slowly, her joints creak, and she’s become a lovable curmudgeon. No more mast cell tumors since March, although I check daily.

I wrote this about her a couple of years back:

“…As I count up everything I’ve done in my life–the good, the bad, the wins and losses, what was important and what turned out not to be, saying yes to allowing Athena into our home looms large. I don’t really have the words to express what her presence has meant to me, what it continues to mean.”

Still true.

Athena and I, years ago