Saturday, we all gathered together to celebrate the life of Chris Maddera. And it was spectacular. My heart is full of so much love and laughter and yes, there were tears, but the laughter is what I'll hold onto the longest. Chris made me laugh every day we were together. I see it only fitting that his life was celebrated this weekend with so much of it. It was so beautiful and magical to see and hear from the many people that Chris touched (figuratively and literally) over the years. I'm still in awe over how the tribe came together in this incredibly crappy moment to put such an amazing tribute together. The beautiful words, the balloons, the images, the music, the snacks, all of it perfection. I'd like to think Chris would be proud and happy and humbled by how much he is loved. It was a perfect way to begin the healing process.

Over the weekend, I became known as The Widow Maddera. I was even hash tagged as such (thank you Birdpony). I was hugged a million times. I laughed so much, my ribs hurt. I saw a baby elephant and I even took some pictures. I cried at goodbyes and frantically begged people to be safe and take care of themselves. And now I'm home in our little yellow house staring at the giant plant that work just dropped off and thinking of washing machine purchases and living room paint and waiting for the Vet office to call and say my dog is ready for pickup. Preparing for a new routine.

And wishing that the weekend had lasted a million days.