Judi on the Deck

I have a picture from a couple years ago, it seems it hasn't been so long but it has and much has changed since then.
It's a picture of my dog Judi when she was just around a year old, I think, because she was still so small and my bare toe at the bottom tells me it was summer. She was born in the summer.
In this picture she's looking up at the camera, sitting like a teddy bear like she does, and her face is big and out of focus. There's such a long hard shadow in front of her on the pale grey deck. The deck's light pink in real life but in this picture it's grey. The sun must've been behind her. The shadow on the left must've been my mom's and it came in the picture by accident.
Judi's looking up at me and there's a big white teardrop-shaped patch of fur on her nose. I can remember my Uncle Danny seeing that patch of white on her nose for the first time when she was just a puppy and he said, "Oh, look at that. That's cute." It surprised me because he really meant it, and he was never a big fan of our dogs. I've loved that patch of white on her nose more ever since. Even more now that he's gone. I think I love it like it's a part of him for me to hold on to. Sometimes it's not easy for me to hold on to him.
Much has changed since this picture was taken. My Uncle Danny's not alive anymore and Judi's not so small anymore. It's not summer anymore either. The place that processed this picture doesn't process that kind of film anymore. I'll miss Judi when she's gone, and I'll miss that patch of white on her nose. And I think I'll love this picture like it's a part of her for me to hold on to.

dec 20 2010