Last weekend, we lost a founding member of our family: our sweet 15-year-old beagle, Raider. We rescued her from a shelter in Ohio in 2011, a year after we started dating and only a couple weeks after we moved in together. After twelve years together, her absence has created a huge hole in our household.
We often joked that Raider was the “worst dog, best pig.” She was shy and a bit skittish, and not a fan of snuggles or attention except when there was something (usually popcorn) in it for her. She rarely barked–she was infuriatingly silent even on the night when some drunk alumni tried to break into our house because they thought the university lacrosse team lived there–but had a large vocabulary of oinks, grunts, snores, and groanies. She was the only dog in the world who hated walks; she would plant her feet and refuse to move, preferring instead to stand in one place either sniffing or eating dirt. Her favorite hobby was swallowing socks and regurgitating them whole. The best day of her life was when she found half an Egg McMuffin bun and gulped down the entire thing before we could stop her. And she had the absolute best belly.
When we started planning our move to Costa Rica two years ago, we knew there was a chance that Raider wouldn’t live long enough to come with us. As our target moving date in October 2023 drew closer, the logistics of transporting an anxious, elderly dog internationally became one of our biggest stressors. We also knew our lazy little pig wouldn’t be well-suited to the Costa Rican lifestyle (our younger beagle Hamilton, on the other hand, will make an enthusiastic member of the local congreso de perros). So while losing Raider was sudden–if not completely unexpected–and we weren’t quite ready to say goodbye to our sweet girl, there’s nevertheless a strange sense of closure from the universe.
We’re leaving a lot of things behind this year as we finally transition from our old life in the US to our new one in Costa Rica, and the lumpy little dope of a dog who helped us start our family had to be one of them. Raider was a very good girl and we will miss her dearly, but we also recognize the inevitable cycle of life: learning to let go of the old to make space to grow into something new.
As for other important life updates: Construction on Villas Secretas, originally scheduled for early this year, is delayed until this summer. Our architects have another project that’s been delayed due to permitting and approval issues, and they have to finish that one before we can break ground on ours.
This will be both good and bad for us. Good because it gives us time to wrap up much of our lives in Atlanta and then shift our focus full-time to the construction process over the summer and fall. Bad because we’re disappointed that we’ll miss out on the dry season this spring and building in the rainy season carries some risk. We’re hoping this won’t be much of an issue, but it gives us additional time to plan for the future.
In case you missed it: Emily’s recent article, “Republicans are mad about energy-efficient Xboxes. What kind of world are they trying to build?” Check it out on LinkedIn or Medium.
Some exciting news for JP. This month he is starting a new leadership development program called New Leaders Council - Atlanta. This is a national progressive organization to empower and build leaders through local chapters across the country to lead change through collaborative impact in their communities.
Thanks for tuning into this edition of the Catharsis.
Hasta pronto,
- JP, Emily, Raider (in memoriam) & Ham.
