The Words

Thirty years of childless marriage have by no means meant that our nest, or our hearts, have been empty. From Tiger—born in my family home when I was 13 and sent to live with me when I married at 21; to The Boys—Alvin and Theo, motherless mites toted home from the vet’s office 2 years ago, we’ve shared our lives with sixteen cats. Crazy cat people? Maybe.

But we’ve come to learn a thing or two about cats. Just as there are girly girls and manly men, there are catly CATS. Enigmatic. Aloof. Deigning to occupy common space with you, acknowledging your existence when it suits their fancy. They allow you to believe that they like you very much, which they communicate through the occasional purr, snuggle, or head butt. But they are CATS, above all, and any appearance of dependence upon anyone, particularly a non-CAT, would be most unseemly.

And then there are the ones who barge into your home and heart, spread out and take over. They can buddy up to the CATS, but they leave no doubt in your mind that what they really are is small, furry, four-legged people. They lavish you with an embarrassment of love and affection, and expect the same in return. They look you in they eye when they talk to you, as if for all the world they speak the king’s English. They miss you when you’re away, and greet you with a commentary when you return. "Where have you been? I missed you. All I had to keep me company all day were these CATS."

Those are the ones… The ones that remind you what an extraordinary blessing is the love of those very special companions (you could never think of them as merely pets…) Even the heartbreak when they leave you, always years before you are ready to let them go—what a tragedy that a cat’s lifespan is less than one-third of your own—can’t dim the remarkableness of that unconditional love, can’t deter you from opening your door, and your heart, to another, and another, and yet another.

He was such a one. Sprite. Our "Hairy Butt." All he ever wanted to do was be with us. And after sixteen years, we have no idea how to be without him. Our hearts are broken.