It was said that if you duped death, if you kept someone alive who should have died, then you might be called to die in their place. Energy was demanded, if not from one source, then from another.

It's shocking. August is so full of life and energy and creativity and joy.

Jason had joked that dust bunnies under the bed were pets he didn’t mind keeping: they never whined for food and didn’t require a litter box. They also didn't wake you up at night by barking at passing raccoons.

Never allow anybody substitute the unknown definition of your life with their known definition of life.

It's an end of the season celebration to dog ownership. There's always such good energy. It's a spectacle.

But I was done trying to wake her up, to make her see. To save her. The only person I could save was myself.