Momma-Bear

 

WARNING!

If you talk bad about cats, especially my cats, I will go all momma-bear on you.

Just Humor Me

Reflect,Then Move Forward

via Daily Prompt: Year

Today is January 1, 2017 and yesterday was so last year.  I stayed awake to ring in the new year with my husband.  Normally I get sleepy by 9:30pm and find myself crawling in bed by 10:00pm.  Because I stayed awake, I, along with millions of other people, either in New York Times Square or sitting comfortably in our homes in front of a television or other electronic device, were witness to Mariah Carey’s train-wreck of a show minutes before the ball drop.  Much to her chagrin, her reputation needs repair.  I can only guess what her New Year’s Resolution is for 2017.  However, a big round of applause goes to her backup dancers as they did a great job!

On February 12 my husband, and I,  said good-bye to our little girl, Bean.  She was the sweetest Grey Tiger-striped kitty who we adopted from a local no-kill cat shelter years ago.  My husband picked her out and the first day in our house, she owned it.  She sat up on the couch and took a nap, all while our other cats were sniffing her acquaintance.  On December 5, my niece passed away.  She was an awesome mom to her children and had a huge heart for helping people.  We are blessed to know how many lives she touched in her short 31 years of life.  My summation for 2016 is that the good die young.

This past year was heart-breaking, to say the least, but knowing that God is close to the broken-hearted brings me peace.  That means He is near to me, my husband, my family, and Jill’s friends, holding us close as we mourn.

Isaiah 43:18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”   But our minds hit replay on many episodes of days gone by, conversations that happened or didn’t happen, loved ones who were called home to eternity, or the voice of the doctor delivering news of a grave illness just discovered.  God is close to the broken-hearted and he offers His outstretched hand for us to walk into 2017 with Him.  Yes, God can even help restore Mariah Carey’s reputation if she reaches out to Him.

Isaiah 41:10 So Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

May God Bless you in 2017.

Where the Heart Is

Daily Prompt: Stroke of Midnight
Where were you last night when 2012 turned into 2013? Is that where you’d wanted to be?

Family Paws

Vacation! The time spent together is priceless.

I am lying in bed, looking up information on my iPhone amidst a pile of sleeping cats. Family time such as this keeps me grounded, literrally.

Alli, my 13-year old, claims my lap every chance she gets. We call it the coveted spot in the house. If I have my legs crossed she headbutts the intruding leg until it gives in and repositions allowing her the access she demanded. If my laptop claims that space, she will pace back and forth across the keyboard until I move it off to the side, inconvenient only to me, just so my teen-ager can sit with her mommy. Human teen-agers are just the opposite, so I consider myself very blessed by Alli’s need to be with me.

If and when my lap is free, Zoe claims the coveted space. If any of the other cats even look Zoe’s way, she lets out a deep-seeded growl warning them that she is there and is not planning to move anytime soon. Put into words that growl says, “keep walkin’ “.

Mojo is content with curling up close. He always has to touch. He recently was on duty, making sure there was no riff-raff going on in the house. When he jumped on the bed, he put both front paws on my arm and laid his head softly on his arms and quickly fell asleep. I could tell he was back from making his rounds as there was a chill to his little furry paws. His paws lost their chill as they sucked away the heat from my body. Quickly asleep he started to dream. Mojo’s face started to twitch and his paws made movements as if he were running. His once relaxed breathing pattern sped up. He woke startled, probably wondering if he was dreaming.

Bean is the tiniest cat of the group. Mojo tends to dominate her which kicks me into protector mode. I think I would lay down my life for her as she is so innocent and sweet. Her big green eyes make me melt. When Mojo is not up close and personal with me, then that is where Bean stations herself.

Vacation! Time spent together as a family is priceless.

Genesis 2:19(NIV)
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Angels In Black and White

Clyde died less than a month after my father passed away.

Pixel and The Warm Blanket of Peace

I was not raised to be a cat lover.  My aversion was a learned response from my family’s reaction to cats.    

When I started dating my husband, the topic of his cats came up early in conversation.  Jaguar was a male, dark brown (black looking) Manx, and Pixel was a female dilute torti.  Upon meeting the cats, I quickly found out that Jaguar had to give everyone he met a quick bite to state his dominance in the relationship.  After the initial bite, he was a cuddle-bug.  Pixel, on the other hand, was very dainty and the sweetest little girl.  She curled up with Jaguar, as one cat ball, and they would nap together all the time.  So cute!!

When Pixel began vomiting and drinking more water than usual, we made an appointment with the veterinarian.  Blood work results concluded that our little girl was suffering from renal failure.  We learned how to administer subcutaneous fluids to keep her from dehydrating and she was given a special diet along with additional medications.

The diagnosis of feline renal failure is an invitation to a funeral.  Pixel may have lived about two years longer than most “renal failure cat families” because we were on a strict subcutaneous fluid routine and we kept regular veterinarian appointments.

October 8, 2003…Quality of life was the deciding factor for the one-way trip to the veterinarian’s office where the last kisses were administered and the first tears flowed. I could not stop crying.  The pain was raw and insufferable. 

Did I mention that I could not stop crying?  About one week passed since Pixel passed.  I was on the second level of my home where Pixel and I spent a lot of one-on-one time together.  I was on my knees on the floor, in the middle of the room, sobbing uncontrollably, mourning the loss of our sweet little girl.  Remembering how she suffered during her final days kept me in this crouched position, dehydrated from the river of tears pouring out of me.  Here, at my lowest point, I began to cry out to God seeking His peace from the pain I was experiencing.  After this heart-felt prayer, it happened.  I began to feel warm.  First my head, then my shoulders and arms.  Next thing I knew, my torso, legs and toes…all warm. I instantly stopped crying and I was at peace.

God showed up, as I had asked, and He hovered over me as a warm blanket of peace.  What an awesome feeling. 

I was not raised to be a cat lover.  My love for cats was a learned response from Pixel and Jaguar’s reaction to me.

Today is the anniversary of your passing, Pixel.  Rest in peace, our precious little girl.  

Psalm 29:11 (NIV)

The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

 

Up/Down

Turn up the news or
turn down your voice.
I want to hear the message.

The cats are either upstairs or
downstairs,
wherever I happen to be.

Look up to see the sky or
look down to see the earth.
My God is everywhere.

Families upsize homes to accommodate additions or
families downsize homes as empty-nesters.
My house remains the same.

Look at me upside-down or
look at me downside-up.
I will never change.

I will never change.
My house remains the same.
My God is everywhere.
Wherever I happen to be,
I want to hear the message.

Territory

My cat, Mojo, is possessive. He has favorite toys called kick-sticks (introduced to him by his foster mom), he likes to lie in certain spots throughout the house, and he makes sure the world knows I am his mommy. How does this once-feral-turned-house-cat tell the world I am his mommy? It is odd, but true.

Every morning he follows me into the bathroom and watches me disappear behind a curtain. Patiently he waits on the closed toilet seat for my return. Barely towel-dried, he quickly jumps to the sink and stretches his paws out to my shoulder and crawls into my arms. Mojo rubs against and licks my neck, jaw line and cheek. In this ten minute ritual, I have been marked as his territory. My soapy clean human scent has been replaced with whatever feline pheromones announce “she is mine”.

My Father in Heaven is possessive. He created men and women in his image; He supplies the world with resources and beautiful sites. He tells the world that we are his people. How does he do this? Through the water of baptism, we are cleansed of original sin and named as His children. Similar to the daily shower, God’s grace and mercy are new each and every day. The blood shed on the cross shouts out to satan, “This child is mine!”

I am Mojo’s mommy and I am a child of God. I have the best of both worlds.

Genesis 1:26 (NIV)
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Unconventional Mother’s Day

Infertility erases Mother’s Day from the calendar.

No handmade cards or hand-picked dandelions from the yard.

No messy kitchen or breakfast in bed.

No mother’s ring on my finger.

 

Infertility opens doors to nurture.

Instinctively the young know who will care for them.

Mother’s day has special meaning.

Psalm 119:76 (NIV)

 

 May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.