This is Fruitycake The Raccoon. Just a reminder again. I’m not a real raccoon. I’m just a dog that really likes to go thru trash. And I kind of look like a raccoon too.

I wanted to start off the blog by bringing you a sense of normalcy. But the truth is, things are anything but normal. Peanut Butter Brickle, my big brother and friend, went to sleep over a week ago. And I don’t really want to talk about it much. I’m just beginning to realize that he’s not going to return the same way I knew him for now. And if I keep talking about the day he went to sleep, well, I just can’t keep writing this blog.

You see, it’s all up to me now. I know my responsibility. Brickle explained it many times. He told me that if Girl Person ever stopped writing this blog, that it would be my job to remind her why she started this in the first place. It would be my job to remind her that people count on her. It would be my job to continue this blog. And I will do that, starting today. As hard as it is.

I was trying to think about what to tell you today. And I just didn’t know where to start. But then, right in front of me, I saw the bushes. The thorn bushes that block our path in this Italy place. The thorn bushes that we just realized have all of these berries. Blackberries. Thousands to be exact!

And then, all of a sudden, I knew what these bushes reminded me of. Brickle! They appear menacing and scary. Like people told Brickle when he was you get. The thorn bushes are prickly. Yes. Like Brickle’s attitude. But then, when you get past all of that, you see the sweetness. The blackberries. Brickle. Brickle’s personality was one of the most caring I’ve ever known. A dog of wisdom. Yet handling the decisions of his day with fairness and sweetness. And yes. He could be a little tart. The Brickle Bushes. That’s what I have named them here.

We’ve been trying to make our little house cleaner. And trying to clear away the dirt and mud of years of neglect. It’s a huge job. And the persons have felt this last week that they didn’t want to go on. That it was too hard.

But when they stepped back, or fell back to be exact, they realized that Brickle gave more than what he had to get them here. Brickle gave more than what he had to start them on a new path. And the Brickle Bushes are a reminder to cut thru the sadness. And to find their way again.

Oh, how we miss our Peanut Butter Brickle. I really have no words adequate to describe how much we miss him. But for now, starting today, I’ll try to keep this blog going for him. And Digby too. It’s me, Fruitycake. I’ve got this.

–Fruitycake

This week, I think some flowers are in order. Maybe some peanut plants? Oh, of Digby’s wish of a pancake tree was possible, we would do that too.

If you’d like to buy flowers this week, we can do that right away. And we can start seeing some progress together. Maybe we can grow. And heal. Brickle loved you very much. I do too.