T.G.I.F.

Man oh man I am soooooo glad it is Friday. I have worked a few extra hours this week, and although it hasn't been that much more I feel like I am hung over (without the fun of getting drunk..lol).

I am sitting at my desk enjoying the last little bit of freedom before the HELL of summer vacation begins. My oldest gremlin has been finished school for a few days, but the youngest one has to go until next Tuesday. I don't get time alone with #1 too often and I have to admit it has been pretty nice. When #2 isn't around to irritate her, she is a pretty nice gremlin to have around. She is even somewhat co operative about helping with housework (as long as I bribe her with computer time..lmao).

I was sitting here wondering what I wanted to post about so I was reading a few blogs. I stumbled across a new blog that I was enjoying immensely. Actually, IT found me because the author checked out my blog . She commented on a post of mine, so I went to check her out(as the good little blog addict I am..lol).

While reading her blog, she was talking about 2 new kittens her family has adopted from the SPCA. It got me chuckling and thinking about how we came to have our cat. Her family already has a cat that isn't happy about the 2 new additions and that reminded me of the following story:

In the early months of 1990, I was living alone with a cat named Bandit. I loved this animal with all my heart. I was very lonely at the time still trying to deal with , and overcome, the hell I had survived as a teenager. Bandit was my best friend and confident. At night, when I had such terrible flashbacks and nightmares, she would snuggle close, lay by my head and purr like crazy to calm and soothe me until I fell back to sleep. After I came home from a long day at work, she was always there to welcome and love me.
Anyway, on one cold day, I happened to be going out for food. When I walked out of my apartment building, there were these 2 little bundles of fur laying in a snowbank trying to get down and meowing like crazy. I asked some kids playing close by if they owned them, but no one knew where they belonged.
Being the softy I am, I grabbed both kittens and took them inside. I had NO desire for another cat so I didn't know what to do with them. I called my best friend and she came right over. We both fell in love immediately, so she took the male and I , the female. The next day when we took them to the vet, it turns out they had been beaten.
Anyway, I loved her from the start and called her Boots. Unfortunately, it was NOT love at first sight for Bandit. She was mean and nasty to this little bundle. She would hiss and swat whenever she got the chance, and would pounce if Boots came within 10 feet of her. I laugh at this now, but I was really worried. I would have to lock Boots in the bathroom while I went to work, because I honestly thought Bandit might kill her.
As time went on, things settled down and Bandit decided to make friends. They became good company for each other and Bandit even learned to share the bed with Boots. The three of us were the 3 mouseketeers (forgive the bad pun) and we all loved each other greatly.
As life took it's twists and turns,things changed...I met AND married the BIGGEST LOSER to ever walk the face of the earth...had 2 gremlins.. thank GOD got rid of the FHL (fuckhead loser, yes the name fits but that is another post..lol). Through it all, my 2 dear cats travelled the road of life with us. They even grew to love the gremlins, although they weren't too impressed with them when they were babies...lol.
When I met and started to date the gnome, I was worried about what the gremlins would think of him. It has just been us against the world for 8 yrs and I didn't know how they would adjust. Shortly after we started to date, I invited the gnome over to my house. If the gremlins were gonna hate him, I wanted to know before things went any further. At this point, I will mention that whenever someone comes to our home, Boots runs and hides so no one ever sees her. She still does that to this very day(I think because of the abuse she suffered before we found her). She is very shy and will NOT come out til the person has left. Anyway, that first night, the gnome walks in and I introduce him to the gremlins. They are both quiet and shy, so I send them up to their rooms to watch some TV. I invite the gnome to come sit down. He walks in, sits down on the couch and I will NEVER forget what happened next....there he sits on the couch and Boots comes out from under a chair, hops up on the couch,lays down on the gnome's lap and starts to purr as soon as he pets her. I was like OMFG I can't believe it. It was at this moment that I knew the gnome was a keeper...he had the "boots stamp of approval"..lol.
A few years later, Bandit became very ill and I knew she wouldn't be with us much longer. It was a dark day for our family when I took her to the vet. It didn't take much to confirm she had developed diabetes and her kidneys were failing. There were some heroic measures that could have been taken, but they would have been painful with no guarantees of success. Bandit was 17 at the time, so we decided it was best to end her suffering. The next morning we all said good bye and the gnome and I took her to be put down. This was one of the hardest things I had ever had to do so the gnome offered to do it for me. I knew that I had to be the one. That cat had loved and comforted me when I was alone in the world fighting my demons, so she deserved my support now. I held her as the vet went about his task and I held her in my arms as she passed away. I am glad now that I could be there at the end. The following few days were hard ones for the entire family, including Boots. The poor thing sat by the front door meowing in a way that sounded like a baby crying. It was DAYS before she would eat, to the point that I thought I might lose her too, due to her obvious sadness. Thankfully, she came around.
It is funny how things turn out sometimes. Bandit hated Boots when she came to us, and Boots mourned the loss of Bandit as much as the rest of us. To this day, if you ask my gremlins where we got our cats from they will tell you what I always told them ......We got Bandit from the store because Mommy needed someone to love her but God sent Boots to us because HE knew Boots needed US to love her...

have a great Friday all and a blessed weekend...

As always, to be contined....................