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This Thankful Day is usually my favorite day (besides Sunday). Today i have many things for which to be thankful, yet a lot of it is bittersweet.
That brings us to the star of the show today, Mikey.
Quite a while back, we started to notice some symptoms in Mikey. He has to be sedated at the vet's office or he fights back, and at his highest fighting weight he was 19lbs, as he's at least half Maine coon and was all muscle. You can't examine a cat like that unless he's under the influence of something.
Anyway, he was diagnosed with a rare and not very treatable form of cancer of the lining of his intestines.
We are thankful we've had 8 years with him (he was one of our bottle babies).
We are thankful for great vet care from Dr. Bea that kept him comfortable and happy for as long as possible.
We are thankful his best cat pal, Dansig, has been going up to him and just giving him kisses for no reason for about the past two weeks. He knew, and he was telling his friend that it would be okay, i'm convinced of it.
We are thankful that these last few days we've been able to love on him and give him plenty of treats and his favorite canned foods instead of the special diet he was on.
We are thankful that when we say good-bye to him this morning, #1 Son (his special person) will be there.
We are very thankful that Dr. Bea has her own special burial place on her land in the country, and she will gladly take him there.
In other thankfuls to round out my ten, i am thankful that Ms. V, one of my clients, gave me Christmas gifts, a new apron, a special key clip that i can use to keep my grip on client keys, a spray bottle (i can always use new spray bottles), and the wonderful new mop bucket for her house that she's been saying she would get!
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| The old blue one is history, the new has arrived! |
(You know i am either crazy or dedicated or both when i am grateful for a mop bucket.)
And last night was rEcess, where Christmas was busting out all over:
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| We were all happy but tired at the end! |
Please write up your own list and link up to Ten Things of Thankful, where Kristi and her co-hosts always have a warm welcome waiting.
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Today is:
AKC/Royal Canin National Championships -- Orlando, FL, US (top dogs from around the world compete to see -- who really is top dog? through the 18th)
Ako Gishi sai -- Ako, Japan (traditional dances and warrior parades honoring the 47 Ronin)
Buy a Tree Day / Deck the Halls Day -- internet generated, and if you are going to decorate, why did you wait this long?
Christmas Bird Count begins -- sponsored by the National Audubon Society (through Jan. 5; since 1900, the longest-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations)
Free Shipping Day -- with hundreds of participating merchants at http://www.freeshippingday.com/
Hakidaore Ichi -- Tokyo, Japan (fabulous shoe festival; through tomorrow)
Halcyon Days begin -- a time of calm and tranquility (beginning seven days before the winter solstice, lasting until December 28, seven days after the solstice; named for an ancient fabled kingfisher bird [or halcyon], which hatches and raise her young during this time)
Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Stufur -- Shorty, who is also known as Ponneskefill, the pan-scraper, who will scrape food scraps from the pans left out
International Shareware Day
Khoiak Ceremony for Ploughing the Earth -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)
Monkey Day -- unofficial, by animal groups, to draw attention to the plights of simians kept in labs and as pets
National Bouillabaisse Day
National Day of the Horse -- US (by Congressional resolution, information here)
National Energy Conservation Day -- India
Play An Old Song That You Didn't Like To See If You Still Don't Like It Day -- internet generated, and don't bother, bad songs don't improve with age
Precalentines Day -- an unofficial holiday for math lovers begun by a precalculus class at a Nova Scotia high school
South Pole Discovery Day -- thank you, Roald Amundsen
St. John of the Cross' Day (Patron of contemplative life, contemplatives, mystical theology, mystics, Spanish poets; Ta' Xbiex, Malta)
St. Spyridon's Day (Patron of Corfu, Greece, and potters)
Anniversaries Today:
Alabama becomes the 22nd US State, 1819
Princess Mary Stuart is crowned Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542
Birthdays Today:
Samantha Peszek, 1991
Vanessa Hudgens, 1988
Paul "Beakman" Zaloom, 1951
Bill Buckner, 1949
Dee Wallace Stone, 1948
Patty Duke, 1946
Jane Birkin, 1946
Ernie Davis, 1939
Leonardo Boff, 1938
Lee Remick, 1935
Charlie Rich, 1932
Don Hewitt, 1922
Shirley Jackson, 1919
Morey Amsterdam, 1914
Spike Jones, 1911
Margaret Madeline Chase Smith, 1897
James Harold Doolittle, 1896
Debuting/Premiering Today:
Saturday Night Fever(Film), 1977
Diamonds are Forever(Film), 1971
"Il Trittico"(Puccini opera), 1918
Today in History:
Osman ibn Affan is appointed the third kalief of Islam, 644
The Zuider Zee seawall collapses, 50,000 lives are lost in the floods that follow, 1287
The first artificial pearls, made of gypsum pellets covered with fish scales, are manufactured by M Jacquin in Paris, 1656
The Montgolfier brothers' first balloon lifts off on its first test flight, 1782
David Wilkinson of Rhode Island patents a machine that cuts nuts and bolts, 1798
The American Academy of Political and Social Science is organized in Philadelphia, 1889
The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from Ocean Beach, San Francisco to Honolulu, Hawaii, 1902
Norwegian Roald Amundsen becomes the first to reach the South Pole, 1911
Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sri Lanka join the United Nations, 1955
The United Republic of Tanzania joins the United Nations. 1961
NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus, 1962
Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations, 1999
The Millau viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, near Millau, France is officially opened, 2004
China's first lunar rover, the Yutu, lands successfully on the Moon, 2013
The Vatican announces it has rediscovered the lost last paintings of Rafael, painted around 1520, in the Vatican Museum, 2017
The Walt Disney Company buys most of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion, 2017
Definitely bitter-sweet. Thank you so much for you care for Mikey, and for the gentle end you were able to ensure he had.
ReplyDeleteHugs.
Time to have and love, time to let go. Mikey so fortunate that he was well taken care of and much loved.
ReplyDeleteI would be thankful for new mopping apparatus -- if a had to mop!
ReplyDeleteMy husband has taken over that job -- probably because I did a lousy job of it so many years ago. I do vacuum before and move the chairs around. But he does the mopping and cleaning up etc.
So I am particularly thankful for husband.... don't need a new one. :)
Sorry to read about the lose of a beloved pet. A goldfish or gerbil can bring the same painful feelings. We get attached to animals that bring us pleasure and to our best to return the same.
I'm so very sorry to hear about dear sweet Mikey. It's never easy and we send love and hugs to you all, especially pal Dansig.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear of your loss. I know your beloved kitty had the best of life with you. And a new mop bucket, well that's something to be happy about!
ReplyDeleteHaving Mikey was such a blessing. He was a beautiful furbaby. He was so lucky to have had you. I'm so glad his special person could be there to say goodbye. I'm sorry you now have to deal with the empty Mikey shaped holes in your hearts.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about Mikey. It's always so hard to say goodbye.
ReplyDeleteYour mop comment made me laugh, but I can relate. Having the right tool for the job makes life so much easier!
There are so many things we are thankful for every day.
ReplyDeleteGod bless, Mimi.
Sad about Mikey ~ fur persons are so dear to us ~ lovely grateful list ~
ReplyDeleteHappy Moments to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Losing a pet is always hard, and extra so around the holidays.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry.
As to Christmas decorating, this is about when we decorated when I was growing up. My folks didn't like to start too early and I've kind of carried that tradition on. I like it, tho', because I'm not sick of it all by the day after Christmas, so everything stays festive through Twelfth Night around here. :-)
This is so sad. I am sorry you had to say goodbye to your handsome boy. XO
ReplyDeleteSurely one of the most difficult responsibilities to be privileged to have, to help with the end of life.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
So sorry that you had to say goodbye to Mickey. What a beautiful cat. I am sure he felt loved and I know that you will always remember him.
ReplyDeleteI totally get being thankful for a mop bucket. Having a tool that makes doing what has to be done an easier task is most welcome and something to be thankful for.