This is for you, Missie girl. Time with us: September 20, 2011 – November 8, 2020. From the first day we saw your little white paw reaching out from the adoption center cage, begging us to adopt you, until today when you left us peacefully, wrapped in one of your favorite “blankies” and covered by some pink carnations and lavender, this is for you. A short synopsis of an incredibly rich journey with two humans who adored you immensely ….who MISS you tremendously!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHO LOVE YOU MORE THAN WORDS COULD EVER EXPRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITHOUT YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!OUR HOME IS EMPTY WITHOUT YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!OUR HEARTS ARE EMPTY WITHOUT YOU!!!
As I write this, a dark veil of sorrow surrounds me. It follows me everywhere. I can barely see through the tears that fill my eyes and stream down my face. This torrent of tears soaks my lap. No matter how hard I try, I cannot stop it. I am running out of tissue, little girl. I sit here waiting for you to come into the room and do your “Missie cute,” again with your 4 legs sprawled out (front legs bent) while lying on your back. I wait to stroke your beautiful silky, white fur and fluffy tail and experience those sparkling green eyes of yours again. I wait to touch your cute pink nose, pink ears, pink paw pads, but I realize this time my wait is futile. Instead I try to remember all the superbly wonderful things about your presence in our lives. YOU WERE A BLESSING THAT NEVER STOPPED. A simple presence that produced IMMEASURABLE love and joy and companionship and laughter. You were the PERFECT KITTY, BAR NONE!!!! You never complained. You never messed up anything anywhere!!!!!!!!!!!! You were the strongest little kitty ever!!!! You fought cancer and gave it a run!!! On several occasions, we thought we would lose you immediately, but you fought back through all the medications and syringe feedings, and gave us a few more weeks. With three major diseases ravaging your body, you still “maintained” and remained to be the SWEET, LOVING, AFFECTIONATE KITTY THAT WE KNEW AND DEARLY LOVED… I am so very sorry for all the discomfort you endured just to be with us a little longer. So much love and the will to survive from such a small, engaging, mysterious creature of God are truly amazing.
You always had a forlorn look on your sweet face when we left the house for short periods of time. Were you afraid that you would be abandoned again?? NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU WOULD NEVER BE ABANDONED AGAIN!!!!!! People mistreated you in your first 7 years of life – but that would never happen again in the last 9 years of your life – not with us there.
Your awesome green eyes were so expressive and beautiful. They greeted us at the door whenever we returned, they asked for more food when you were hungry, they were soft eyes when we cuddled. Sometimes they were a “little scary” when you did not get enough attention. You knew you were our Queen!!!!
You were very, very intelligent and sometimes “conniving.” Your little nonchalant visits to the kitchen to check on the delicious smells were so, so adorably cute!!!! You would peek around the corner – with only one eye showing – and watch the activity… hoping for a tasty morsel or two. You were never aloof and always wanted our company. You were like a puppy always under foot while quietly following us around the house. Sometimes you almost got stepped on because of your “stealth mode.”… For your safety we should have put a bell on you, but we never really thought it was necessary. You were a survivor.
Almost forgot to mention the beautiful sparkle in your white fur. When you were lounging on your favorite deck, and the sun was shining on you, a sparkle could be seen on the tips of your silky, soft fur.…they were like tiny diamonds on a white tundra. Wow, could not believe this!!!!!!! It was a truly beautiful and absolutely AMAZING sight!!!!!!!! Only a special kitty like you could have such an amazing quality!!!…and thanks to Dr. Trisha from Compassionate Care, we have some here to remember you with.
At night, I would do “leg sweeps” in our bed to see where you had settled for the night. Most of the time, I was successful in finding you, but sometimes you were nowhere to be found. Where could you be??? …. We eventually found you comfortably tucked between our pillows, but with only a dim light in the room, the only things visible were those green eyes that were now big, dark orbs on a white background. When they peered back at us, it was quite a scary “jolt” to a sleepy mommy and daddy. We could almost hear you “laughing.” Needless to say, you wanted your favorite treat at that time, and you insisted on staying until you got one, or two, or three….. No more sleep for us, ha, ha.
I long to feel you in our bed again, to listen to your adorable little “snore,” to run my fingers through your soft fur.
At one time, we wondered what that unusual “howl” you occasionally made really meant. You were normally very quiet and not very chatty, so that howl made us think you were in some sort of distress. We soon realized that it was always followed by a successful “potty break.” Oh, What a Relief it was…for both of us, ha, ha. Oh, forgot about the “bulleting” around the house that also followed.
Bad hair day. This was hilarious. Every morning I would awake to you nibbling on my hair. This led to a bad hair day for me. Don’t know what it was, but you just loved being my hairstylist – although not a very good one. You left my hair parted and standing up in the weirdest way. I shall miss that quirky behavior. You had a few more, too. Not eating unless your food bowl was placed right at the tip of your paws was a puzzling one. Couldn’t you see it there? Were you that spoiled????????????? Did some research and found that your huge eyes and pupils kept you from being able to focus clearly on anything closer than about 10 inches away…but your whiskers could swing forward to feel what you could not see. Ahhh, mystery solved. For a while there, we thought we had eternally spoiled you…which we were more than happy to do.
You were so afraid of the sounds of the loud Fedex trucks that were making their daily deliveries, but after I gently covered your ears, hugged you, and reassured you that it was alright, you started to ignore those annoying noises and promptly continued to watch the high-speed aerial battle going on between the neighborhood hummingbirds… or you simply went back to sleep on your favorite chair on the deck. Broomsticks were also something that scared you when you first came to us. Apparently, someone had done some harm to you using one. It took a little while before we were able to show you that it was not an object to be feared.
WE HAVE MANY, MANY MORE FOND MEMORIES OF NINE WONDERFUL YEARS THAT POP INTO MY MIND, BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO NUMEROUS TO NARRATE HERE. SO WE LEAVE BY SAYING:
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever,” but sadly, for us, that joy is gone now replaced only by the fondest memories of 9 years of love, which we shall cherish no matter how many seasons pass!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Your four paw prints on our hearts are indelible… and here forever. Safe journey to the Bridge, Missie, girl. GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU SAFE AS YOU WAIT FOR US THERE. We shall be together again soon. WE LONG TO HUG YOU AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! OH, SO VERY MUCH!!!!! Until we meet again, DEAREST MISSIE, love and hugs and kisses from your Loving Mommy and Daddy. Steve and Karen Henry
