Grief

I'm sitting here in tears with grief over the loss of a cat. Not my cat, mind you....my dad's cat. This is possibly one of the saddest pet losses I have experienced. My dad decided, about a year ago, that he wanted a cat to keep him company. I convinced him that he should get 2. He's gone alot and the cats could keep each other company. So we got him 2 cats from the animal shelter here, got them checked, fixed and got their shots for them and then traveled to Texas to take them to him.

Now, let me say this. My dad LOVES these cats. Not a conversation goes by that he is not talking about them. All of his friends love them, they are awesome cats. Daddy lives alone, is blind and the cats are his family.

So he called me today. The female cat, Sophie, evidently got in the dryer while he was doing laundry yesterday. He had no idea. He found her. I cannot IMAGINE how he must have felt, discovering her that way. I tried to explain to him, this had nothing to do with his blindness. Cats, unfortunately, like to get in dryers. And Sophie was notorious for getting into small spaces.

He's heartbroken. I'm heartbroken for him. I worry, not so much about the loss of Sophie, but about the circumstances. His loss would be hard enough, but he has to deal with the guilt as well. It's just so sad. He's so careful about them, maybe more so than most because he is blind. This was just so unfortunate and tragic.

So if you read this, send positive thoughts his way. If you pray, please pray for him. He spends most of his day, every day caring for others. He has friends who are surrounding him with love right now, but this is gonna be tough. I told him to let his friends comfort him and to let his other cat, Spook, comfort him as he comforts Spook.

I just needed to share.

Books

I just read a book...yes I said it. I JUST READ A BOOK! I can't tell you the last time I read a book. But I did it. Today. Matthew and I went to the library today for storytime and while he was enjoying his time I went upstairs to check out a few books. I saw this book, Life on he Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers. I just thought it looked cute ("Notes between a mother and daughter") so I checked it out. Wow. Cute was not the word to use for this book. It was easy reading but very emotional. Very good.
Anyway, I was so excited about actually reading something that I'm about to start on another one I've been waiting for the library to get in, "For One More Day" by Mitch Albom. I've really enjoyed his other books, so I bet this will be as good. I also checked out a few genealogy books and a biography of Abraham Lincoln. Genealogy has really become my passion and I've discovered, much to my father's joy, that I'm a closet history buff! Anyway, enough of my book report.
I broke my toe yesterday. OUCH! Acutally I don't KNOW that I broke it, but I'm pretty sure it is broken. I called the doc today and she said their's nothing they do for a broken toe, so I'll just limp around a bit. But MAN it hurts! Yes, I was goofing around. Matthew was on my bed and I was jumping around singing and acting silly and WAM I ran into the corner of my dresser. That'll teach me.
More soon

What a week!

Seems I've already used "What a Week!" as a title of one of my posts...but if the title fits, blah blah blah.



My dad was here for 2 weeks, just left Monday. It's always a good time when he is here. The kids adore him and we always have fun! We went to see my 96 year old Grandma when he was here and it was a wonderful experience. She is an amazing woman, just had surgery for yet another cancer and is recovering fine. They managed to get all the cancer. It's amazing to me that they would even do surgery on a 96 year old, but the surgeon said that was no reason not to. She's in perfect health! She was thrilled to spend time with the kids. I haven't seen her smile so much in a long time.



I've started working out at the gym, determined to lose some weight. With my youngest 4 years old now, I can no longer use the excuse "baby fat" . Time to get busy. Wish me luck.



I started my volunteering for the year at Rachael's school today. I've been rather anxious about it, ready to get started. I've felt so disconnected and being there, meeting her classmates and being a part of it made me feel better. I only do an hour a week, but it's so worth it! Rachael enjoys having me there and I like knowing the kids that she's talking about everyday! I've already been to Matthew's school a few times, so it was good to go to hers.



So, it's almost time to head to the gym. Wednesdays are my busiest day I think. Kids to school, volunteer, gym, pick up Matthew at 11:30am, shop for Nana, laundry, clean house, Rachael home at 3:00. Get the kids settled, fed, bathed, etc before I have to go to choir practice tonight. Who says I don't have a full time job? :)



As of right now, I've got 2 blogs going. I haven't decided where I will hang my hat. So in the meantime, I'm double-posting. I'll see which blog seems to work better for me (and you).



Having a great day, I hope you do the same.