Sadness mixed with gratitude
A day of both quiet gratitude but combined with sadness. Today is our 35th wedding anniversary, which sadly because of the pandemic we will not celebrate with a dinner out. Still we are grateful for one another.
The sadness is because yesterday we had to say goodbye to Elsa, our approaching 20 year old rescued kitty who had been with us for more than 18 years. Her health had been going down for a while, although she caught her last mouse last month. She was now close to totally deaf, her vision was fading. We took her to the vet yesterday morning and gave one last chance, but even with multiple treatments,she decided she no longer wanted to eat or drink, and it was clear she was in increasing discomfort, so yesterday evening we took her back and stayed with her as she passed to say goodbye.
The last time we did not have a pet was briefly in 1983 we had to put down a cat that had had a stroke and could no longer keep his head up. Later that day a mother cat picked me out – seriously – and four days later we brought home two her kittens, starting a trend that has had as many as 5 cats here at a time.
We are sad, but grateful for the blessing we have received from our feline and canine companions over multiple decades.
We have been a couple for more than 46 years. We share a love of pets – and music, and many other things.
My wife has also been dealing with losing her father in October, a remarkable man who productive even to his death at 90. She misses him, and has responsibilities as his executor. That means my primary role now is to support and comfort her, even as I must prepare for a return to virtual teaching in less than a week.
There is sadness, but also much gratitude as this very difficult and demanding year comes to an end.
