I Guess It’s My Turn
Margaret
I was going to write my last vacation post and fill it with my observations about the UH Warriors’ performance in the Sugar Bowl, the afternoon we spent snorkeling, and the really cool green geckos that we saw at the Kona airport.
But we got home Thursday night and Scrum was really happy to see us, but he wasn’t well, he wasn’t comfortable, and he wasn’t happy. He followed my instructions to the letter. Before we left on the morning of the 18th I had told him in no uncertain terms that he had to wait for me, that he absolutely couldn’t die while I was gone. And he obeyed me without question for once in his life. By Friday evening he was ready to go and so we called nice Auntie Rachel who came and euthanized him for us. Scrum fell asleep purring in my arms and never noticed the final injection.
The house is quiet, although scrupulously clean (Andrew and I had a cathartic cleaning day on Saturday), and very empty without a cat around. We will, without a doubt, have cats again at some point in the not too distant future, but for now we need some time to decompress, to mourn, and to celebrate their lives.
Bummer of a post with which to start 2008, sorry about that. At some point I’ll get around to writing my eulogy for Master Scrum Archie Tweedletrousers The Futon Torpedo. I’m sure his brother is overjoyed to see him.
7 Responses to “I Guess It’s My Turn”
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January 7th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
That sucketh used kitty-litter. 🙁
January 7th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Oh jeez. I’m so sorry. Yes, I know that Scamper is thrilled, but damn. Just…damn.
(((hugs)))
January 7th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Yeah, there’s just about no quicker way to kill the benefits of a three-week tropical vacation than to come home and kill a beloved pet.
One amazing thing that happened after it was done: Margaret and I were holding each other in her office when I heard a thump from the next room. We went into my office and found a piece of wireless equipment on the floor. Now, this thing had been on the top shelf of my bookshelf for over a month. No one had so much as breathed on that shelf since before we had left for Hawaii. We could only hypothesize that Scrum was finally able to get up onto the six-foot-tall shelf and knock things down like in the old days. Bearing that in mind, and remembering the time long ago when we caught him standing on top of our front door taking swipes at the ceiling fan, we turned on the fans in two rooms for him to play with. I hope he got his chance to do so.
Ah shit, now I got myself crying all over again….
January 7th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Me too, Roo, me too. I remember him up over the door of your Pullman place. 😥
January 8th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Dear ones…I amso glad that Scrum waited for yourr return… hard but yet easier than thinking of him being witthout you to smooth the paath. (the double letters are a genuine mistake, but markedly like a cat’s purr) . You will hear him I am sure, just as the shade of Rose’s tail appears under the kitchen counter, seen out of the corner of ones eye on rare occasions (tuna cans being opened, fih for dinner}. Give im a thought from me in memory of ll the beloved felines who have graced ourr lives the last 56 years. love Mom
January 8th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
That’s really sweet of you, Mom, thank you.
Do you really see Rose around the house once in a while? I’d like to think that she’s happy wherever she is, with lots of T-shirts to suck on (for those not aware of it: like many Siamese cats, Rose had a thing for nursing on fabric).
January 15th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I’m so sorry about your kitty. Losing a longtime beloved pet is so, so hard. We lost our 18 yo inside cat this year too. I think I catch glimpses of her out of the corner of my eye, or can feel her thumping onto the bed at night and then I miss her all over again. Hang in there.