Good morning, Sadness, Part Two

Last week, I wrote about sadness and loss. So many people wrote to me, concerned. I am grateful to all of you. In case, you were worried, please know that my husband is fine. I am fine. Our home is fine. The farm is fine.

However, our five year old tuxedo cat, Monsieur Mustache, is not fine. He is dying. He has terminal cancer and has a  a few months to live. Maybe a little more. Maybe a little less. We are watching and waiting.

He was a feral kitty, adopted from my vet's assistant, Kassie. Her parents rescued a pregnant mama cat--practically just a kitten herself. The mama cat gave birth to a big litter of kittens. We adopted an orange tabby and named him Mister Pickles II (the original Mister Pickles had died the year before). About ten days later, Kassie told us that there's also a tuxedo kitty from the same litter. So, we adopted our very first tuxedo cat and named him Monsieur Mustache because of his comical little mustache.

I know they look nothing alike, but they are brothers. Apparently, a cat can get pregnant by two (or more) different papa cats and give birth to cats with a variety of colors and patterns. The moment I brought Monsieur Mustache home, Mister Pickles welcomed him warmly with heart-felt love and kittenish mischief—gave him a tour of the house and showed him the ropes (where we hide the cat treats) and generally embraced his role of big brother with great enthusiasm.

Mister Pickles knows his brother will be leaving us soon. It's that obvious. And yet, while Monsieur Mustache sits quietly on the deck, he's out there in the garden, stalking the grasshoppers and triumphantly catching them—perhaps showing off for Monsieur Mustache’s benefit. He's running after the leaves, chasing them across the lawn as they swirl and spin and fall to the ground. He's running toward invisible creatures who might threaten the cat kingdom. And later at night, he serves as captain of the night watch, holding down the fort in my office and making sure his little brother is safe.

Creative Friends--there will be times in your life when you want to leap into the uncertain future. You want to get past this painful part and get on to the next thing. There will be times when even a fight or some kind of tumult feels better than waiting. You want to rush ahead and get to the end of this story. Your assignment for this week, is to slow down and bear witness. Clean your supplies. Tidy up your workspace. Be patient. Wait and watch and be the protector of the realm. 

Love, 

Jamie