I keep expecting you

 I keep expecting you.

Not because I’ve forgotten.
Not because I don’t know what happened.
But because love has a memory of its own.
And sometimes, it is stronger than reality.
I still reach for you in little ways.
The ways that happen before thinking.
The ways that come from years of loving someone who was always there.
I walk through the door and part of me waits.
I hear a sound in the house and part of me wonders.
I wake up in the morning and for one brief, beautiful second...
the world feels unchanged.
Then the remembering comes.
Quietly.
Like a shadow crossing sunlight.
And I have to learn the truth all over again.
There is a toy still tucked beneath the couch.
A few strands of fur that somehow escaped every cleaning.
A corner of the floor where the light still falls exactly where you used to nap.
The house remembers you.
And maybe that's why I do too.
Because love leaves traces everywhere.
Not just in photographs.
Not just in collars and keepsakes.
But in habits.
In expectations.
In the invisible ways we continue making room for those we love.
Sometimes I feel foolish for it.
For turning my head when I think I hear paws.
For glancing toward your favorite spot.
For speaking to you without realizing it.
But then I remember something important.
These aren't signs that I am stuck.
They are signs that you mattered.
You were woven so deeply into my days that even now, my heart still looks for you.
And honestly...
I hope it always does.
Because what a gift it was to love someone so completely that their absence still echoes years later.
I imagine you now beyond the Rainbow Bridge.
Not missing.
Not hurting.
Not waiting in sadness.
Just living in a meadow where every breeze feels gentle and every path leads to joy.
And maybe, every once in a while, you expect me too.
Maybe you look toward the horizon with that same familiar hope in your eyes.
Maybe love works both ways across eternity.
So yes...
I keep expecting you.
In doorways.
In dreams.
In the quiet spaces between ordinary moments.
And maybe I always will.
Not because I haven't accepted goodbye.
But because some bonds become part of who we are.
And hearts don't stop looking for home.
Until the day I hear your paws again beneath rainbow skies, I'll keep carrying that expectation gently.
Like a precious reminder of everything we shared.
Because you are still loved.
Still missed.
Still expected.
And always will be.