Sun 13 October 2024

The working title of my previous post was, "A Grief Exchanged."

I couldn't quite make the title work in my head, so I abandoned it for "Adoption," which still works well.

I'm re-claiming that title for this post, because I can make more sense of where I was going with my last post.

I got home tonight after spending a few hours with family, and a familiar-yet-distant feeling was on my mind:

Excitement.

Excitement because I was home.
Excitement because someone was waiting for me.

I've been feeling lately like the last year was almost a Dallas Dream Retcon type of interlude.

...that the past 12 months of mourning, sadness, and intense feelings of aimlessness were just a passing shadow, and that I am now what I always was:

A cat dad!!!

Now, please understand. I am not at all trying to equate cat "ownership" as some kind of great panacea for the soul, or some kind of great spiritual calling in and of itself (although... it really kinda IS). And truthfully, most of the things I struggled with during the past year of loss were things I struggled with even while I had my floofson with me.

But during the past 54 hours, I have felt the sadness of the past 12 months steadily effaced as I spoke to, cared for, fed and delighted in this "Wee, sleeket, cowrin, tim’rous beastie."

And in doing so, I exchanged grief over the loss of one floofchild for the joy of caring for another one.

I think Hobbes would be pleased.

Note: This article has a(n informal) Part III

Category: Life Tagged: Beauty Life Loss Non-religious post Non-technical post