Our Asheville anniversary weekend started with a seven-hour drive (shown above) followed by a jaunt to Whole Foods to supply our Airbnb with fresh flowers and basic nosh.

Upon arrival, Gizmo 🐶 had two seizures. We hopped back in the car with all three pups en route to the emergency vet only 10 minutes away (thank God!). He had another seizure as we were checking in at the vet. I lost it, wailing openly as he shook and foamed at the mouth. They yelled “triage” and took him to the back for an IV.

The next three hours time stood still. He stabilized, the other two dogs trembled, and we headed back to our Airbnb in shock. Throughout the night I cleaned up bloody stool as he also had a bout of colitis. Poor guy!

This wasn’t the trip we’d planned when we dreamed up our 16-year anniversary getaway. Yet, isn’t that how things go? Best laid plans. There’s no way to prepare for emergencies and, thanks to three senior pugs, I’ve learned to be malleable. Accept and adjust.

The next day we read, watched The Game Changers (highly recommend), and monitored Gizmo without leaving the Airbnb. Sunday we ventured out for a meditative tea ceremony ☕️ (see pic below), bookstore 📚 jazz with pups at Battery Park Book Exchange (can I move in?), dining at Plant 🌱, and ended the day at a brewery 🍺 with the pups.

We decided to return to DC a day early since we were able to get an appointment with our regular vet. Before our seven-hour drive back to DC on Monday I took a previously scheduled Artist Date 🎨. Although the teacher’s responsible for the lovely proportions (my bodies usually look oddly distorted), I chose the pink and gold coloring and sample image to model online. Isn’t she lovely? 👗

Was this the ideal weekend? 🤷🏼‍♀️ Somehow we are both grateful despite the drama. Gizmo is stable, Asheville is gorgeous, and we’ve made it to 16 years!

We have the first available neurology appointment early February and, sadly, know the neurologist well. It was five years ago this same weekend that Louis had his first seizure and was subsequently diagnosed with brain cancer. How is this possible?

Sure we had a different vision of how the weekend would unfold, but sometimes life has other plans and I’ve learned that leaning into it makes for a smoother ride. 🧘🏼‍♂️ Please send healing thoughts Gizmo’s way and hold your furry (and non-furry) friends close. Bisous x