I've finally created an Instagram account(@dan_cewithsomebody) as a tribute to Dan, where I'll be sharing moments that remind me of him.

Since Dan loved traveling, adventure, music festivals, arts, and good food, I've decided to carry something small that represents him whenever I enjoy what he liked.
It would mean a lot to me if you could join this tribute by carrying a small Stitch figure and capturing moments with it. This way, we can all keep Dan's adventurous spirit alive.

Choosing a representation for Dan was really hard. At first, I thought about something related to his favorite animal, but it was difficult to choose as we both loved so many animals, and our favorites kept changing. One time, we were obsessed with sloths during our trip to Costa Rica; the other time, we loved raccoons after watching funny raccoon videos. We adored dogs, cats, giraffes, ostriches, whale sharks, seals, sea lions, badgers, red pandas, otters, llamas, koalas, and many more. Since I couldn't decide on one animal, I considered some characters he liked. Dan loved all Marvel movies and shows but didn't have a particular favorite character; he enjoyed the story more.
Then, I encountered a cute Stitch the other day. I remember Dan strongly recommending that I watch the Stitch movie when I told him I hadn't ever watched it. We watched it together, and I have really liked it since then. Stitch's bad behavior reminded us of our dog Lizzie, which I guess was one of the reasons Dan liked Stitch. I think Stitch was Dan's favorite among the Disney characters, so I've decided to appoint Stitch to represent Dan and carry it on his behalf.

I have some extra Stitch figures if you need one, also there are many figures available on Amazon.

The night before his birthday, I had a dream of Dan. In my dream, I knew he was dead even though I was talking to him. It's strange, but my dreams are usually strange. Anyway, I told him I would celebrate his birthday with friends and asked him if I should celebrate every year. He said yes. I told him I wished I could celebrate with him. Then he said, "I know," with a lovely smile.
I rarely have dreams in general, and it's super rare to have dreams of Dan, so I'll take this as a birthday gift from him(I know it's his birthday, but he is nice enough to give me a gift).

On his birthday, I hosted a wine and cheese party for Dan(Dan loved wine and cheese party🍷). It was really nice to spend time with friends and share his memories. I received beautiful flowers from Amanda Lahrmann and Jason Elvrom and many messages from Dan's friends(more messages than I got on my birthday. I know everyone loves Dan)

I was so scared of how I would spend his birthday without him, but thanks to Dan in my dream and my amazing friends, I survived another milestone. I'll celebrate his birthday every year to keep my promise to Dan in my dream.