I received a fresh (almost) notebook in the mail a little while ago for the Do Not Leave Unattended project, and it’s about to leave me tomorrow on the way to Jeff Hamada.  I’m even dropping it off by hand for him, how’s that?

Anyway, here are some photos of the book…

Without going into too much detail, I decided I would go through all of my old journals and find the bits where I had mentioned my dog, Chloe, who passed away a few months ago.

I had her for 14 years, and thought it would be the ultimate catharsis to look back on that extensive history.  I set to work one evening and spent hours poring through them and writing out excerpts where I had mentioned her.

There were lots of tears shed, I laughed at myself more than I’d like to admit, and shook my head at some of the silly choices I’ve made.  But if there’s one thing that was clear throughout my journals, which spanned from 1994 to 2008, it was that Chloe always made me smile, no matter what my troubles.  And that’s the moral of the story.

Now, what is Jeff going to do with that empty page?

Be sure to check out what’s happening with the other notebooks floating around the world, and sign up to be on the list to receive your turn if you’re interested!

PS: Chloe had diabetes for the last year of her life.  November 14 is World Diabetes Day, so I wrote a story about Chloe and canine diabetes on NowPublic that you may want to check out.  Be sure to light a candle in your window as a beacon of hope!