for Yaya

I am so impossibly sad to say that our little girl Yaya crossed over on Monday.

Saying goodbye to Yaya is without a doubt the hardest thing we’ve ever had to to do. Her health declined rapidly in her final days. Every part of us wanted to do everything we could to keep her here, but she told us it was time to go, and we listened.

An impossibly kind and gentle vet came to our home so Yaya could cross the rainbow bridge from the comfort of her couch throne. We kissed her tiny head and whispered in her ear. It was agony. It was exactly the death she deserved.

My Mom came to be with us and keep Dunkin company. She gave him the chance to say goodbye to his sister, too. My tears will blur my vision if I say any more about that, but just know he was her brave, devoted brother to the very end.

It’s the one thing we knew for certain would happen some day and yet it is absolutely unfathomable. I am shocked by it. I know it makes no sense, but I am shocked she is gone.

If I could I would write plays and sonnets and epic novels for Yaya. She deserves a whole canon.

For now, all I can say is she was our anchor, our morning, noon, and night, our family.

I wrote this for Yaya back in October 2023, and I’m so glad I did because I can’t find the words now, but here they are.

Can you do me a favor? For Yaya, today, can you love the world? Maybe take a nap, that would be ideal. Eat some cheese for sure. Whatever the human equivalent is of barking furiously at your neighbor’s cat make sure you do that. Love your body. Love your people. Go at your own pace. Pursue pleasure. Be right here, right now, in this day if you possibly can.

The greatest surprise, though I don’t think Yaya was surprised at all, is how many people Yaya touched through this newsletter and through my instagram. It’s hard to explain what it means to have the wonder of our girl reflected back to us in the words of love and comfort from Yaya’s many fans all across the country.

Thank you for loving Yaya. When she had surgery at the end of last year, we were buoyed by the love and good wishes and support of her friends near and far. I’ll never forget it.

Thank you for keeping us company through this grief. Thank you for taking our little family seriously. We aren’t okay right now, but I know we will be. Your words of love and support have meant everything to us.

I’m glad you’re here.

I love you.

Love,

Rosamond (& Yaya)