Goodbye to Our Precious Katie 😔😻

For those of you have read my post of Living One a Day at a Time concerning my kitty cat Katie being sick, I want to let you know that sadly we had to let her go and stop her suffering. We were nursing her for two weeks from kidney failure. She stopped eating her meals and was just drinking water and eating a few treats a day. Every night she visited me and slept beside me, a sure sign that she wanted to convey that she was ready to let go. The other day she was so weak that she fell down a few stairs. At that moment we knew what we had to do to alleviate her pain and let her keep her dignity until the end.

Tom and I took her to the vets, a place full of compassionate and caring people. They understood my endless tears and red swollen face. They explained the process. They left us alone to say goodbye while we held her while the sleeping meds kicked in. After they took effect, Tom left. It was too emotional and I had told him that he needed to do what was comfortable for him. I didn’t know if I could stay with her while they euthanized. Was I strong enough to hold all this pain of seeing my baby girl go to the other side?I know now that I was. I stayed with her and held her and whispered her beautiful name. I promised her that I was there for her and that I hoped to see her over the rainbow someday. Through salty fresh tears, I did it. I pulled through, after all ,it’s what I owed her for all those years of her faithful love and joy to our family. It was as if she was sleeping. It was peaceful but one of the saddest moments of my life!It’s an experience that I wish to forget yet all that emotion, love and friendship remains.

Our Katie will be cremated and we will bury her in a special spot in our yard. She will live in our memories and in our hearts. We will miss her tremendously, her looking for treats while we did treat hunts, her calm nature and purring, her scratching on our son’s door at night, her soft clean coat and her nosy personality while she followed us throughout the house.

Her brother Smokey misses her as well, looking up on my bed for her. That was one of Katie’s favorite places while she was sick. We plan to cuddle with him, give him extra treats and help him as he might get lonely. I know that he will be okay but I hurt for him.

I still look around corners expecting her to be there or lounging in her rocking chair.Its going to be awhile before I stop looking. It’s hard, just like everyone said it would be! But through all this loss and pain, I wouldn’t trade it for anything, as she served us with enough love for a lifetime. That eases the pain a bit.

All My Best,

Heart and Soul 😻❤️

Living One Day at a Time

My beautiful girl, Katie

It was Wednesday February 14th, Valentine’s Day…usually a day of celebrations of love and family. This year God had other life surprises in store, filled with solemn moments and bursts of reality of true acceptance. Our oldest cat Katie ( who is 15 1/2) suddenly stopped eating and drinking. It’s not that I didn’t see some startling signs, for months she’s ate with little eagerness, stopping here and there. It would take her over an hour to consume her dish of food. Maybe I was deeply engulfed in a state of denial, a steadfast belief that she had years to live.

It’s been 10 long days since the vet visit and the diagnosis of kidney failure and the acceptance of what is. Tom and I are nursing our precious kitty to the best of our ability. We’ve put bowls of water in four rooms, trying to accommodate and remind her to drink more. Since she won’t eat her regular dry food I bought baby chicken food, something she eats bites of here and there but not eagerly. Lexy brought over senior delectable liquid treats, tuna and chicken flavors. Katie started out eating them but not so much anymore. We are down to probably days or moments with her, something I thought I’d never be strong enough for. It’s a period of watching anxiously and praying for God’s guidance. Here we are contemplating when to bring her to the vets to say goodbye, to let go of our loved Katie so she can go over the rainbow into heaven.

Katie is our beautiful striped kitty, my first pet love, who we raised with our sons as part of our family. As most of you probably can imagine and relate to, it’s breaking my heart to see her this way. I keep praying for strength and peace, for her to show us signs when it’s time to let go. God is with us and Im truly thankful for that!❤️😃

Please keep her and our family in prayer. ❤️❤️❤️🌈

All My Best,

Mary ❤️

Comparison is the Thief of Joy

 

 

A few months ago I read somewhere that “comparison is the thief of joy.” Ever since I keep revisiting that thought. It stuck with me because truthfully I’ve compared my life to others, when I was younger. Haven’t we all compared our life to another at one time or another? Maybe you’ve had fleeting thoughts of that how unfair it is that a person gets all the good breaks. How come that person seems anointed with luck and you continue to receive the short end of the straw? 

 

 

It all stemmed from insecurities and what seemed to be competition from others. I think I, like many people, have developed a strong sense of self and with that competition and comparison has thankfully fizzled! As that maturity ages like a fine wine, my realization has been that engaging in this is a negative act.

 

 

I know some people who compete with others in everything they do and fortunately I’m not made of  the same cloth. I’m just me and live the way I want, free of that whirlwind race. It shows how unhappy some people are and how comparisons can be toxic and damaging to their lives. 

 

 

 

I try to think of it this way, EVERYONE LEADS A DIFFERENT LIFE! You have been led on a unique path, a collage  of all your experiences that have happened to you. Have faith in your path and remember that your journey is entirely unique.

 

 

 

 

Stop comparing! Be happy with what’s dealt to you and refrain from toxic comparing. Sometimes it seems like others have a free ride, but you don’t know the whole story and they may not be happy. What matters is your joy and truly loving your moments, without longing for someone else’s life. Feel the joy in your life and cherish those special moments without comparing. Once you LIVE and LOVE YOUR life, there’s a freedom and a let go of comparisons.

 

 

 

Relish the joyful times and stay strong during the rough bumps. Maybe you’ve had a hard period and times have tested you but it WILL end. Stay positive, pray for guidance and be happy for people. You will join them in your own blessings soon enough but for now it’s a test. Do you have the strength to pass? I think so!

 

 

 

All My Best,

Heart and Soul ❤️