to my best buddy, i'll always love you!

kasey keeps asking if i should do this post now or not, just looking out for me, he doesn't want me to fall apart i suppose. my mother called this morning, i wasn't really able to talk, she told me that she was going to call me later, then betsy called hours later and told me that something bad happened... my remarks... 'it can't be that bad betsy you aren't crying'... she said, 'yeah, i'm going to right now'. after a few attempts, i couldn't really hear through the tears, finally i heard the word.... uma.

i don't think i had cried that hard since... i can't remember. uma just made it past her 10th birthday and has seen me through the worst of times. she always knew when i was down, knew when i was happy and never left my side when i was home.

you might think that it's pretty lame that i am posting about my little chihuahua friend, but that's just what she was, my buddy...

joined at the hip... well more at my arm, she went everywhere with me. she got totted to the grocery store, we sneaked into the movie theater, driving in the car and running at the beach... among many things... she always knew when i was leaving on an airplane, even before the suit cases were out... and when they were, she would jump in and lay down as if to tell me 'don't even think about it!'.

i would sneak her into the byuh library, the college houses that i lived in and she would even come to work with me at surf n sea. the japanese that would come in loved that her name was uma cause in japanese it means horse... but no, hers is the tongan meaning which is kiss... which she was known to give many of!

she would ride as my hood ornament on my skate board, sleep either on my pillow by my head or in my arm pit til she knew i was asleep then would move down to my feet and sit by my chair at dinner time... hey i don't know why???

i remember one day running on the beach down to goat island with her... she would always stay right next to me, and on the way back i decided to go for a quick dip to cool off, uma didn't want to come, she hated the water, and for every step i took towards the water i would look back to see what she was doing, as i took that step towards the water, she would take one towards home and just look at me, so i figured that if i was going to get in i had to make it quick. i took off into the water and when i came back up and look at the beach uma was there... running towards home! so i ran out after and once she knew i was behind her she turned and ran back to me! she loved the beach so much... once her feet hit the sand she was gone, running so fast her back feet would drag!

she always knew when i was home... i don't know if she would hear me in the drive way or not... but she always met me at the door... and if i didn't pick her the first time she jumped up, she would follow me around the house jumping up and bitting my butt until i did.

after i started putting these pictures together i realized that i didn't have too many of me and her together... the ones that i do are mostly prints and not in my computer collection... i started to feel bad... so these are a few of the ones that i had on the computer. i could go on and on about my little buddy uma, but i'm starting to loose it again... for some reason i am starting too feel really guilty about not being there with her... i told that to kasey, he told me that she is here with me now.

i love you uma, i'm sorry i wasn't there. thank you mom and betsy for sitting with her, that means a lot to me.