Gavin and Charlotte happen to be born a week apart. I mean, their birthdays are June tenth and June seventeenth, so we celebrate them together every single year. Raiden always goes all out and plans this huge party with blow-up castles, balloons, cake, all of it. The whole deal. This year, because Gavin’s developed a slight obsession with bears after we visited Raiden’s mom in Colorado a few months ago, he dressed up as a bear. It seriously made Gavin’s day, and Charlotte loves it too.
I love them all.
Our friends are here, and our parents too. Both of them. It was a little weird for them at first, getting used to the idea of Raiden and me together, but they came around faster than we both thought they would. Now, they even get along when we’re all together like this. The first few times were tense, but now we’re just like all other families. We have our quirks and our differences, but we love and care about each other.
We still live in Miami, and I’m not sure we’ll ever leave. Raiden and I both love it too much. But we did cave in and buy a cabin near Denver a few years ago. We spend a lot of time there as well, with Raiden’s mom. Oh, and we made sure we cut down all the trees that were sketchy, too tall, kind of broken, half-dead, and anywhere near the cabin. One experience with a fallen tree was enough for us.
And now, for the best part? Right. The best for last.
I finished my vet tech training. I figured out I wanted to work with animals a long time ago when I first got Pudding, my rescue cat who has actually come around to loving Raiden more than she likes me, even though she was always a mama’s girl. So, Raiden being Raiden (I’ll admit he’s kind of a genius), opened an animal sanctuary for me just outside Miami with a ton of land where abused and neglected rescue animals can call home. We take everything from farm animals to cats and dogs, and we have a really amazing team behind us. I never saw myself ending up here, but I’m so freaking glad I did.
Our kids love all the animals. It’s incredible to see how a frightened, scared, and hurting animal will arrive—their past is often not a happy one, and some of them never knew a moment’s love or kindness before they got here—and then slowly start to change, trust, and learn what it means to be free, treasured, cherished, cared for, loved, and happy. We have a few residents who will probably never come around, but that’s alright. They’re living the best life they can on their own terms. If it means they’ll never fully trust humans again, but they know they’re still loved beyond measure, we just have to be okay with that. We’ll always give them the time they need, and even if they never come to us for a pet or come near us, it’s still amazing to see them out and about, basking in the sun, and knowing they’re safe with us for the rest of their days.
Of course, it isn’t all roses—not our life and not our sanctuary—because it’s hard when we lose an animal. They’re like our family, and it’s hard when we see suffering and the worst of humanity. It’s devastating to see the pain and fear and learn of the abuse and horror of the past. We’re fully aware that people turn out at this because it’s just so hard, but we keep going. We really do just take things a day at a time. We’re always open with each other on how we’re doing—all of us—our whole team. If someone’s struggling, we support them, love them, and help them. There are often tears, but there is also a lot of laughter and so much love.
Even the kids get it. They’re young, so we try and protect them and keep them innocent, but they’ve seen some of the pain and suffering, and they’ve had heart hurts too. Regardless, they’ve also seen the love, the trust, the newfound joy, and gentleness.
Gavin already talks about wanting to be a vet, but Charlotte says she doesn’t know what she wants to do. She says she never wants to stop doing this, being a part of this family and loving deeply.
She might only be two, but I get it. And she’s right. She’s so, so right.
I don’t ever want to give this up either. Family. Friends. Love. It changed my life, and it changed my heart. Love has given me the whole world. Yes, it might take a ton of hard work. We sweat, we cry, we vent, we laugh, we break, and we put ourselves back together. But in the end, it’s all so worth it.