Grief is exhausting. Thank you to everyone who sent their condolences about the loss of my sweet Milo. It has been a very hard week for me. I stayed in bed for two days until I had to get up to teach a class. I have been back to bed on and off since then. I cried so much in the first 24 hours that I gave myself abrasions on my eyelids. I had to sleep with the windows open for several days, even when I was cold, because my bedroom smelled like dog. Yes, it has been hard. But I managed to get some work accomplished today, and I did go to school yesterday. (Oh, that was rough. My knees actually buckled when I walked in the door at home.) My eyelids are back to normal. Febreze appropriately directed does wonders. And there have been several of you...

So thank you especially to:

V for checking on me regularly and the cookie-baking session
P for calling and texting
M for the beautiful letter
R for letting me cry on your shoulder
T for understanding enough to let me off the hook tonight

...and to the rest of you who were so kind to me.

FYI, I am not going to answer any of the questions some of you asked. This is not something I want to discuss. And, no, I am not going to get another dog right away. I understand the reasoning when some of you have suggested this, but we all grieve differently. The next one will come along when the time is right, just as Ginger, Tim Tam, and Milo did. Until then, my arms will be empty. Again, thank you...

Today I found out that last month one of my former students died in a motorcycle accident. It's not the first time that one of my students has died, but it really never gets any easier.

John Samuel was in my geometry class, probably around 1999. He was a good student who worked hard. He was competitive about his grades, which was sometimes annoying but also helped him get the grades he wanted in my class. I remember him hanging around my classroom after class to talk to me, not just about school but about other things as well.

After high school John eventually ended up at UCLA. He graduated on June 17th of this year. Hours later, in the early morning hours, his motorcycle went over an embankment on the 405 freeway. John sustained fatal injuries in the accident.

I hadn't seen John at all since we both left Alemany. I was shocked and sad to hear of his death. Please join me in praying for his family and friends.