Here are the posts where I have mentioned Ufi. Sadly, too many of them have been about his lifelong battle with allergies. How I wish I dedicated more words to his friendship, work, and the smiles he brought to all of us.
Here’s one post highlighting some of Ufi doing amazing work.
All things considered, today has been n a good day for Ufi and us. We walked around the block. He started limping on the last block, but he enjoyed himself. He did lots of sniffing and got some pets.
Later, Mom put water in his pool. We didn’t expect him to use it, but Ufi wagged his tail and brought us his beloved orange ring. Knowing the possibility of his leg breaking, we no longer throw the ring; instead, we lightly roll it on the ground. It only goes a few feet, but Ufi gets to kind of chase it.
He was able to play for a few minutes. Then, he went in his pool to rest. Seeing him playing with his ring and enjoying his pool made Mom and I so happy.
The dog who was once the most energetic, playful dog I have ever seen can only kind of chase his ring; his fun gets interrupted by a limp that signifies pain and way more pain to come.
Ufi’s heart and head are still into living Ufi’s life. Ufi’s leg and the spreading cancer are slowly teaching him his life is winding down.
Eventually, the pain in his leg will be too great. Other systems will be too compromised for Ufi’s heart and head to continue wanting him to live his life.
Knowing that is heartbreakingly painful. Watching him enjoy his pool, ring, and people food provides smiles where smiles are now hard to find. Feeling his tail wag against me reminds me to do my best to live in the good moments we still have. Feeling his head rub against me tells me he’s kind of okay. Knowing he’s kind of okay helped me be kind of okay.
So, today was kind of okay. Tomorrow, we are having another barbecue. We want to make sure Ufi can enjoy grandma’s barbecue at least one more time.
There’s a good chance tomorrow will be kind of okay. Kind of okay is way better than the alternative. So, we will embrace kind of okay and try to be happy with kind of okay.