Chapter's End

     It's been a very busy month for us as we prepare to bring this chapter of our lives to a close. We have found that endings can be very difficult, to say the least. Yesterday was a prime example of this. We had to say goodbye to our beloved family pets Boots and Mister Cat. It was a hard decision, but I let Joey make the call as they were his pets when I met him. We had other alternatives available, but he made the choice to have them both "put to sleep" as they both had numerous serious health issues and were just plain old and miserable. Boots had gotten to the point that his arthritis was causing his hips to fuse, leaving him with limited mobility and he fell over frequently while trying to navigate the porch steps. Cataracts clouded his eyes and he was getting to the point where he didn't recognize some family members anymore. Children weren't his friends like before. This wasn't good. His sweet smile was still there sometimes, but there was also a lot of pain. He was also battling heart worms. When the Vet examined him before he put him under he informed us that he could feel a large tumor in his abdomen that we weren't even aware of, and that he wouldn't have had much time left. We were truly doing him a favor by making the decision we had. We had shared 15 years of joy having this Friend in our lives. He will be missed.

     Mister Cat was not a real cat. Not by any measure that I had ever had of the feline persuasion anyway. He did not want to cuddle, he didn't like being petted (unless he was forced into it in order to be fed), and he was definitely Not interested in playing stupid mouse games. Once I was made aware of the fact that he was at Least 25 (yes, it's true!) years old I figure that he was allowed to act any way he wanted. A cranky, cantankerous old codger was his nature, but we loved him just the same. He had started to lose weight this last year and was in a lot of pain from some serious old injuries that he had sustained many years ago. Couldn't even touch his lower back without him howling and biting at you. But still...It hurt to let him go...

     Now I know that Non pet people will just shrug and say "So what's the big deal?". Ha, obviously they have no idea how attached we get to our fur-family. They are a daily part of our lives and routines, giving far more then what they receive. Their unconditional love is our comfort and joy. They lift us up when we need them most and ask for nothing in return (well maybe the occasional hot dog or piece of turkey).

     What it came down to was that we needed to do something to put an end to their misery, and it was our responsibility. We didn't want to leave this for one of the kids to deal with, although they did offer to take them in. It wouldn't have been fair to any of them. They were our pets and it was getting to the point where they were both miserable and in pain the majority of the time. I've been put in this position twice before in my life. Doesn't get any easier as time goes by. We are struggling with the loss, but we do still have our Sadie and she will be traveling those open highways along with us. She is our comfort and joy. Another chapter comes to a close.

     Today is the last day at the house. We will finish clearing and cleaning, then hand over the keys. With all of the physical limitations that Joey and I both have this has been a real trial. Thank God that Joey's migraines have been few lately and that my body has held up as well as it has while we have been making this huge transition. The trailer is pretty much loaded, some things left in a storage unit (to be downsized in the near future) and huge amounts of our worldly goods have found their way into other people's homes.

     Don't know how much longer we will stay here at Seabreeze RV in Portland. The constant wind (no such thing as "breeze" here) is wearing on me. It's frustrating that Joey can't even go fishing with the water so close because of the wind. The horrible wifi service here (1 Mbps... really?) will soon be a non-issue as I'm going to invest in our own mifi this week. Don't like being dependent on rv parks for our internet access. We still need to stay in the area for a couple more weeks, but the world is our oyster, right? Who knows where the wind will blow us next...haha

Be Blessed and Thank You for sharing our lives...