Wednesday, February 15, 2006
JANUARY TO APRIL....2005
I’m almost finished with my two years plus story of the Andersen/Stricklett families and bringing it down to little ol’ me……right down to 2006. Only one more year to write and then I shall need to think of something else. Some of you have been with me on a long journey of family stories and events. You should know me pretty well by now…. and where I came from…..and how we arrived at this point. When I look back over my life and the lives of all those before me, I am amazed. There is a thread all down the pike that mingles and ties all of us together in a long journey of family.
January 2005 on the 4th day was my first anniversary of writing. I didn’t realize it would take so long to write everything I remembered about our ancestors but I wanted each one to be personal and complete. After I’m gone my children will have a very personal history of them all……not a sterile genealogy but my observations from childhood on. It will be a finished work and labor of love. They will have to write their own last chapters……and mine.
The year started out slowly. Rocky was back driving and I was spending a lot of time taking care of Missy, my little black outside kitty. She was a love. Somehow she came down with a strange neurological disease and after a year or so was unable to stand up to eat. She became so weak I brought her into the household to the amazement of the other three kitties who live inside. They seemed to know she was helpless and gave her a respectful personal space.
With my care and attention to her needs, Missy was inside for 15 months. I made a bed for her on one of the chairs in the living room and she was propped up enough that she could eat laying down. I carried her to the litter box and held her so she could have a semblance of normal elimination. When we went to Kansas City to see George, Missy went along. We met the Rockenbachs for a short visit in Sikeston one time and Missy went along. She traveled well on the bed I made for her in the back seat. She was excellent at adapting.
Missy’s ability to compensate for survival and giving up her independence was admirable. I could only imagine how she dealt with her loss of mobility. We had been together since she came to me…..hungry, cold and abandoned in 1997. She went to the garage every night to be locked in for safety and let out each morning. She was my constant companion when I was out in her realm. Often times we sat together on the deck, enjoying the solitude and the company of each other.
Eventually I realized I was keeping Missy in my own selfishness and the inability to give her up. With unbearable sadness I took her to the Vet who put her to sleep in my arms. It was a terrible loss for me but the right thing to do for Missy. I shall always miss her as a family member. She is at rest with Jake and Dara in the back yard where she loved to roam her domain. About the same time, John and Barb had to put their beloved Hobo to sleep and it was a sad time for all of us.
Pets give so much and ask so little. Could we find a friend so loving…so true…so devoted, life would be so much better. Yes, I have good friends but none who suffer with me in sadness or rejoice with me in the good times as the pets I’ve had. When bad news came over the years and I sat and cried……I would feel a nose or a paw on my hand and look into eyes that somehow felt my pain.
To all our dogs and cats who have added all that and more…….you were loved perhaps more than you could ever understand….and you are missed more than you would ever have imagined……
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
January 2005 on the 4th day was my first anniversary of writing. I didn’t realize it would take so long to write everything I remembered about our ancestors but I wanted each one to be personal and complete. After I’m gone my children will have a very personal history of them all……not a sterile genealogy but my observations from childhood on. It will be a finished work and labor of love. They will have to write their own last chapters……and mine.
The year started out slowly. Rocky was back driving and I was spending a lot of time taking care of Missy, my little black outside kitty. She was a love. Somehow she came down with a strange neurological disease and after a year or so was unable to stand up to eat. She became so weak I brought her into the household to the amazement of the other three kitties who live inside. They seemed to know she was helpless and gave her a respectful personal space.
With my care and attention to her needs, Missy was inside for 15 months. I made a bed for her on one of the chairs in the living room and she was propped up enough that she could eat laying down. I carried her to the litter box and held her so she could have a semblance of normal elimination. When we went to Kansas City to see George, Missy went along. We met the Rockenbachs for a short visit in Sikeston one time and Missy went along. She traveled well on the bed I made for her in the back seat. She was excellent at adapting.
Missy’s ability to compensate for survival and giving up her independence was admirable. I could only imagine how she dealt with her loss of mobility. We had been together since she came to me…..hungry, cold and abandoned in 1997. She went to the garage every night to be locked in for safety and let out each morning. She was my constant companion when I was out in her realm. Often times we sat together on the deck, enjoying the solitude and the company of each other.
Eventually I realized I was keeping Missy in my own selfishness and the inability to give her up. With unbearable sadness I took her to the Vet who put her to sleep in my arms. It was a terrible loss for me but the right thing to do for Missy. I shall always miss her as a family member. She is at rest with Jake and Dara in the back yard where she loved to roam her domain. About the same time, John and Barb had to put their beloved Hobo to sleep and it was a sad time for all of us.
Pets give so much and ask so little. Could we find a friend so loving…so true…so devoted, life would be so much better. Yes, I have good friends but none who suffer with me in sadness or rejoice with me in the good times as the pets I’ve had. When bad news came over the years and I sat and cried……I would feel a nose or a paw on my hand and look into eyes that somehow felt my pain.
To all our dogs and cats who have added all that and more…….you were loved perhaps more than you could ever understand….and you are missed more than you would ever have imagined……
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
