when you're gone away It's hard to believe it was a year ago today that Simba died.
He's so very much fresh in our hearts and minds...before today I could think back on what I was doing a year ago and Simba was in so many of those memories; last year's Christmas (where we put a bow around his neck and I warned him not to knock over Baby Jesus in the ceramic manager; that Jesus would not be happy with him),
last Halloween (where he tried to snag some of our Oktoberfest), last year's move (where he cried the whole way in the rental truck I drove with Grandpa Di who tried to calm him in his thick Italian accent and tell him it was ok), exploring stairs for the first time, pretty much anytime we drink beer around the cats we remember his fondness of it...So Many Memories:
-A game the Hub used to play with him...when he tries to play the same one with Darla or the boys they don't quite get it.
-His extraordinary patience with SD, who never grew up with pets...
-The sense of keen awareness he displayed...I swear he thought he was a human and not a cat.
-The bond he shared with Darla Beans...
-The way he would get mad at us if we went away for the weekend (or worse on vacation).
-The tricks I taught him..
-His genuine concern for David when he cried.
-His fondness for anything carb based (bread, pasta, beer, cereal) which I did not feed him, but he always found a dropped scrap if there was one.
-His curious nature...
-His love for the laundry basket.
-The way he would, without fail, greet us when we came home.
-His habit of jumping on the sink in the bathroom when I came home from work in our old Boston apt.
-The way he would sit like a human...
-His intense dislike of the WWF Panda I got in the mail from making a donation.
-The way he recognized himself in the mirror.
I'm afraid of forgetting these things, much like the way my 6 year old self was afraid I'd forget the sound of my Memere's voice (sadly I have). I'm alone tonight...just me and the cats. The Hub is on a business trip in Chicago. We visited his grave yesterday and brought flowers that a kind soul had given to me earlier last week.
They still smelled good and I love flowers but don't like to see them die. It's a peaceful pet cemetery yet sad to read some of the plaques. We haven't visited in a while because it's hard to find with the snow. He's # 945 until we buy a stone. Burying him there cost more than my wedding dress, but we're glad we have somewhere to go when need be, and we can just walk there. The worst feeling we have is that we weren't there with him during his final moments. The vet said it was most likely Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (a heart condition) and even if we had known or seen signs there was nothing that could have been done. I just hope he knew we would have wanted to be there with him...Darla has recovered from the loss, but it was hard for her at first. I wonder if she's forgotten him...
A small comfort I can take in his death is that I never would have met Milo or Oscar and they are certainly very much loved, and special in their own ways.
There's never a day I don't miss him...
You'll always be the best cat ever.
1 comment:
That just reduced me to tears. I have always had cats. And I lost my first cat to cancer. There is not a day that I don't miss him.
We have two cats at the moment and they are great but he will always have a special place in our hearts.
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