Jennifer Beck Furber

19 years ago, in water, on the edge of Ebey’s Prairie in our Whidbey Island Victorian home, Lucy May arrived just before midnight, just one day shy of three weeks late, just shy of ten pounds. ⁣
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From her very beginnings, from her love of tiny details to her big dreams that swirl in orbit, from the thousands of books she’s read to the hundreds of paintings & vinyls she loves, Lucy is hilariously witty & brilliantly creative. Her sense of wonder has always been extraordinary. ⁣
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She’s fiercely loyal, tremendously thoughtful, & my favorite middle child.⁣
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I was in awe the first moment I met her & am in awe of who she’s become. ⁣
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Happiest of birthdays, Lucy May. I love you so much.

I look at Ruby & think how cute she is. I knit her sweater & she wears it proudly. She’s an explorer now, braving PNW gale force winds & sideways rain.⁣
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After my dad died, I flew with Ruby to our island so my mom could get stronger in her assisted living home. Ruby was supposed to be on vacation with us until my mom moved to a facility nearby in Bellingham. ⁣
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Ruby had never been off leash, on grass, with a German Shepherd bestie, in the cold rain, on the beach, & so much more. She was a Florida dog rescued as a teen mom in a puppy mill. ⁣
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After my mom died, it became clear Ruby was our dog now. In my months & months of grief in bed, Ruby was beside me. ⁣
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I still introduce her as, “my mom’s dog.”⁣
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As she sleeps on the rug in her sweater I think: Ruby loves me most & nearly falls over from ferocious wags of delight when I enter a room. ⁣
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& then it dawns on me. ⁣
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No one (except Ruby) lights up like my parents used to when I enter a room. Like Ruby, my parents broke rules & were loud & a little much at times. My parents didn’t always listen to me & although they didn’t eat pants left on the floor like Ruby, they ate weird stuff like egg salad with tuna in places unheard of like commercial airplanes beside strangers.⁣
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Most days, Ruby tries her best. Like my parents, Ruby wants to help more than she’s able. She loves unconditionally. She doesn’t offer up unsolicited advice, but she tries to make things better like my mom & dad did.⁣
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Somehow I didn’t realize until today Ruby remains in their spirit. Like, exactly in their spirit. & it brings a huge smile to my face.