Here's a blog post a wrote a few weeks ago and never got around to posting, I think because I was heartbroken over the loss of our cat, Taro, who passed away just days after I penned this. The vet suspects that he actually had a brain tumor as he started displaying many of the same symptoms mentioned below, lost his sense of smell along with sight and was having little ear-twitching seizures. We miss him dearly but still trust that the Lord is good and that his passing, while it was not the answer we hoped for, was still an answer to prayer. We are grateful for the few days in between his vet visits when he was back to being our normal Taro, and his purr could be heard from every corner of the house. Those days are special moments I will always cherish. Without further ado, here's the blog I wrote in early November:
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Happy November! I love November; the weather is crisp but not too chilly and my husband’s birthday is just around the corner. I have fond memories of this time of year from when Phil and I first started dating (October 3, 1998…18 years ago) and I get so excited that the holiday season is approaching. So, all good things.
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| Happy Birthday, Daddy! |
The past few weeks have been pretty good. Halloween was a blast! We were able to go to Phil’s work again for trick-or-treating on Friday and then Monday was the actual event. Mads (and Sarah) got to dress up for school in the morning, and they both went out in costume trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood and then Maddie wore her costume to Cubbies later in the evening, too. It was a full day full of lots of candy. They both loved ringing the “ding bells,” as they call them and Sarah’s little voice saying, “Happy Halloween,” to each person was even sweeter than all the sugar we consumed. We all had a fun time.
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| Little Bo Peep and her sheep in their homemade costumes. |
The weekend prior to that, I was able to go on a women’s retreat with my church and it was so refreshing. I am overwhelmingly grateful to Phil for watching the girls all weekend while I was gone, which is no small task, and doing it with a joyful heart and a smile. If any of it was a struggle, he didn’t complain to me about it.
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| At daddy's work! |
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| Working hard or hardly working? |
It was nice to get away, though, and to reflect on the season of life the Lord has me in, what my true identity is and where I stand currently in my spiritual journey. I had time to pray and be alone with God without interruptions, to sing as I walked through God’s beautiful creation and to fellowship with some really wonderful women. Aside from the distraction of the bed bugs we found the last night, it was a really great trip (and, despite all my worries, I didn’t end up with a single bite!).
I came home, though, to a very sick cat. Taro (12) did not look like he was going to make it through the night, having gone blind and appearing like he would collapse at any moment, but he pulled through and, when I was able to bring him to the vet, we discovered he needed some antibiotics and blood pressure medication. He was in some significant pain from a UTI making him unable to empty his bladder and causing his BP to spike so high that he went temporarily blind. The vet thinks he will regain his sight and he is already seeming much better. It truly was an answer to prayer that he pulled through! This cat has used up 4 of his 9 lives. Sheesh!
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| Rest in peace, Taro. You were a joy. A sweet cat with a shaking tail, a purr heard across the neighborhood, emerald eyes of beauty and a snuggler who, despite some expensive vet bills, never gave us any trouble at all. We will miss you and hope you and Titus are warm and cuddled up with each other. Thanks for really great 12 years. |
We are still in a state of thankfulness for our new home, which I pray will never cease, and looking forward to hopefully having some friends and relatives over during the upcoming thanksgiving and Christmas season. In the meantime, I’ll just hang back and continue trying to juggle our crazy schedule with doctor appointments, work and birthdays, and pray that God continues to remind me of His presence in my everyday life.
