Monday, January 7, 2013
Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2003. Mattie and Peter were sitting in our living room playing. Mattie loved his things spread out all over the place, but he also understood that at the end of the day whatever was out had to go back to its place. Throughout his toddler years, he watched me clean up after him. But all that organizing caught on. As Mattie got older, he took responsibility for his space. I naturally always helped him, but he understood the fact that our living and dining rooms belonged to all of us. Not just his toys.
Quote of the day: The only escape from the miseries of life are music and cats... ~ Albert Schweitzer
I think Albert Schweitzer must have been a cat lover, given the nature of his quote. I do agree that having a pet provides one with a great deal of pleasure in life. An animal can love you unconditionally and it can provide the best of companionship. It is hard to describe these feelings to a non-pet lover. Pets are vital to our families now, maybe more so than ever before. Most likely because our families are so geographically disperse these days and therefore coming home at the end of the day to a lonely space can be daunting. An animal has a way of filling that void and filling your heart at the same time.
We have had our calico cat Patches for 17 years. She was an abandoned cat on the streets of DC, who found her way to our doorstep. I will share that story another night. However, we learned today that Patches has cancer, and most likely bone cancer. The cancer has impacted her teeth and two fell out because there is no bone in part of her mouth to hold the teeth. Patches right side of her face is now deformed from a tumor pressing through. When the vet told me that Patches had a type of bone cancer most likely, I practically dropped the phone. Both Patches and Mattie, how can this be possible?
I will explain more about Patches situation tomorrow. Peter and I are both heart broken tonight and I guess I was so much so that when I picked Patches up at the vet after her xray, I parked in a tow away zone and got an $100 parking ticket. On the ticket it said that the car was going to be towed. Fortunately I got back to the car before that happened. The ticket was given to me by the DC Department of Public Works. You just have to love DC, a city that is excellent at taking your money, and gives its residents (I DON'T mean its visitors) VERY little in return.
I end tonight with a message from my mom!
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Ode to Patches by Virginia R. Sardi
If we count in cat years, Patches lived many
years but in human terms not long enough. The one consolation to reflect on is
that because of you and Peter, Patches has had a wonderful life. She was a part
of a good and happy family which helped her transition from a feral kitten to a
real pet. Later on in her development, she often went outside on the patio on
her own and even when you left the door opened, she never strayed. She was
treated like a family member and appreciated her good fortune of finding a real
home after having started out life on the mean streets of DC. She loved you both
in return in her own way and will be remembered for being a loving companion to
Mattie when he was healthy and got his kicks out of pulling her tail and in bad
times when he was confined to his bed and she remained close at hand. From my
perspective, she is a beautiful cat with a definitive and distinctive edge who
can be finicky to the nth degree, try your patience with her demanding ways but
nonetheless must be respected for her tenaciousness that proves she is a cat who
knows her own mind! Despite her quirkiness she remained loyal and loving at all
times and showed her devotion to you, Peter and Mattie in the excitement that
shined in her eyes whenever she was in your company! She will be sorely missed
when her time comes!
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