One of the requirements of the animal shelter here is that if you adopt an animal it must be spayed or neutered before you take it home with you. Sounds like a wonderfully smart idea and one that responsible pet owners need to do. Little Crosby's procedure was scheduled for yesterday morning very early. If all went well, we'd be able to bring her home this morning to begin her new life with us. Shortly before lunch, we stopped by to see how she had faired through it.
One of the office staff there offered to take me back to see her, telling me that she would probably be pretty drowsy still from the surgery but that she did just fine. So off we went to the back room, the recovery area for any type of animal that has had some type of surgery performed at the clinic.
When we got to the cages where all of the cats were, I peered inside and there she was. Or so I believed. The beautiful calico kitten that I was looking at had one heck of a gash on top of her head with all kinds of stitches running through it. Her fur had been shaved close and her face was not a "smiley" one. I had such a look of shock on my face as I thought to myself.....
"She looks really ticked off, not sleepy! And why in the world did they do that to her head? Holy cow, Crosby! What did they do to you?"
The young woman who had led me back there must have sensed my apprehension and she smiled at me and said that I was looking at the wrong calico. Little Crosby was in the cage right below this one. Sure enough I glanced down and there she was looking at me, perhaps in wonder as to why I was mixed up in the first place. Two calicos, nearly identical except for the surgical procedures they had gone through. I'm assuming that would have been an easy mistake to have made. Assuming helps me to think that I'm not losing what little is left of this old mind of mine.
Mike and I went to Walmart and picked up the necessary cat supplies. It seemed kind of nice actually to be buying a bag of cat litter, a litter box with scooper, and food for her to start on once she gets here today. The day we had gone in to meet her for the first time had been a bittersweet and melancholy kind of day for a lot of reasons. But from the moment I met her and touched her little paw, I began to feel a whole lot better. So who could have imagined that buying $20 worth of cat stuff on a Tuesday afternoon would make me feel even better? Yet it did. For me, cats are good medicine. They provide comfort in times of distress. It was the right time to get a cat.
Last night as we were doing a few things around the house, Mike made the remark that poor Sally's world will soon be rocked by another four-legged friend. He is probably right. Sally has also given us, especially Mike, much comfort and companionship. He has known that little heeler dog for a long time and when Sally's original owner passed away a year ago last August, she came here to live with us. Their walks are a three or four times a day ritual, no matter what the weather may be. They share a real love for one another and I guess if you can be loved by a dog, then you must be an "all right" kind of guy.
It's the very, very early morning hours here along this side of the Rocky Mountains. The temperature is sitting at slightly above the 0 degree mark and snow covers the ground. The clock says 4:10 a.m. and even Sally the Dog is fast asleep. It's the last day of the year 2014 and tomorrow when we awake the new one will commence. There are many things to remember about the past 365 days. Some of them have been good while others "not so much" yet when I stop to consider it, the good greatly outweighs the bad. It always does.
I'm not sure where the next 365 days will lead me but when you stop to consider it, who does? At this moment in time I am healthy and well as I look forward to the year that I will turn 60 years old. My prayer for all of you, my dearest friends and family, is that you will have a peaceful New Year and that life will be well for you too. I give thanks for the lessons I have learned in the past twelve months about myself and about life.
One of the things on my "list of 60 things to do before I turn 60", number 11 to be exact, was to discover the secret to life before I die. I'm glad to say that I can now cross that one off of the list. The secret to life is to continue to live it, to hold your friends and family close to your heart, and to never forget the path that brought you to where you are this day. If I would venture to say what will cause my demise in the years ahead, it shall perhaps be that my heart was so full and overflowing with love for the people that I knew, that it simply burst at the seams because it could hold no more. And you know what? That's not a bad thing. Nope. Not a bad thing at all.
Happy New Year in 2015 to everyone out there. May peace be the journey for all of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment