Memories, Memorials, Maddie-versaries, and Moving Forward.

Today is January 28, the day that Jennifer and I would set aside to celebrate our little dog Maddie, marking the anniversary of the day she entered our lives. Seven years in a row, January 28 was my day to wish you a Happy Maddie-versary, post the traditional roll-call of pictures, then spend the afternoon in the park with a certain special someone. Maddie was my constant companion, editorial assistant, study buddy, model, muse, and confidant, a matted little stray who found a home, traveled and had adventures, and got to meet cool writers like Paolo Bacigalupi, Laird Barron, Jeff Burk, Constance Ann Fitzgerald, Carlton Mellick III, and Christopher Moore. Maddie passed away on April 4, 2012, after a long illness. It was, for me, the most crushing moment of a tough year. I'm still healing. I've still got a Maddie-sized hole in my heart. But I'm getting through it. One day at a time.

On June 23, 2012, someone new entered our lives, a little dog we named Elinor Phantom. Elinor set right to trying to fill Maddie's massive pawprints. She's doing a darn good job of it too, though her personality and Maddie's couldn't be farther apart. And come June 23, 2013, I hope you'll help me celebrate the first Ellie-versary, with many, many more to come.

But for now, me and Miss Elinor are headed to the park.