We make plans for our families, it's what parents do right? And we get
excited, really excited, about the ways we plan to add joy to family
life. It was about three months ago that I started making such a plan.
A friend of ours found out her cat, that she inherited from the
previous owners of her home, was having kittens. They were told this
cat was a male, so imagine my friend's shock. My wheels started turning
immediately! Our kids have wanted a pet forever and we keep saying
"later, later, later". Well what if this could be later?! I talked it
over with Travis and after a few weeks of thought, he said yes. I was
giddy. I had both cats and dogs all of my growing up years, but I've
never been "the mama" to a pet, you know, the one who cares for that pet
from day one. So I staked my claim, Tricia granted me first pick of
the litter. And I waited. They were born on March 2nd. Yes, I
remember the date, because who wouldn't remember the birthday of a
beloved member of their family? And then we had to wait some more, they
wouldn't be ready for 6-8 weeks. As the pictures came in, my
excitement grew. And then we told the kids, they were ecstatic! Chloe
started a countdown, she had it down the day without missing a beat. I
ordered a litter box and cat climber, dishes, a brush, toys,
researched litter and got their little spot all ready in the laundry
room. We picked a precious little gray kitty that stole our hearts. We
went out to meet the kittens when they were just barely walking, there's
just nothing sweeter than wobbling, tiny kittens! Travis was surprised
how smitten he was, for someone who never had cats growing up. He
asked me on the way home if I thought it would be good to get two
instead of one. I loved the idea! There were three white females with
the most adorable gray ears, faces, and tails. So we thought it over as
the weeks moved on, and the night before we planned to go get Fergus,
we decided to get one of the girls too, we named her Mabel. On
homecoming day, the kids were on pins and needles, asking multiple times
throughout the morning and early afternoon, "is it time to get Fergus
and Mabel yet?" They bolted out of the car when we got to my friend's
house. When we put them in the carrier for the ride home, it felt
official, our babies were coming home. It's amazing how much joy
playful kittens can bring to every day life, they are so entertaining to
watch! They took right to their litter box and bed and toys. Their
cat climber was a huge hit, this became their favorite nap spot. And
our love grew for them every single day. Every morning when I first saw
them, they gave me special purrs and longing looks and every evening
they snuggled with me on the couch to nap and play and purr with my
petting. I often glanced over at Travis just beaming, and he was
falling for them too. And the kids, oh my goodness, I'm pretty sure
they never once asked to watch a movie that week, those little babies
became their world. But that's all we got with our precious fur balls,
one short but beautiful week. Sawyer came down with a cold a few days
before we got the kittens, so when his eyes started getting red and
watery, we just assumed it was related to the cold, maybe pink eye
setting in. I refused to go to the possibility of allergies in my mind
because I just didn't want to believe it could be possible. But then on
Thursday of that week, after red, itchy, watery eyes off and on
throughout the week, Fergus licked Sawyer on the face. Little white
bumps started to form around his eye and then his eye almost completely
swelled shut as the day progressed. I knew it in my heart then, he was
allergic to cats... and my heart sank. I called all over town to
allergy docs to see if we could get him in immediately to get tested. I
got him in for a friday appointment and sure enough, he is highly
allergic to cats. He also showed allergies to dogs, horses, mice, and
cluster of certain trees. The doctor talked us through all the
medications and sinus rinses she was prescribing for Sawyer and my ears
tuned out, I knew what had to be done. There was no way we could put
Sawyer on a laundry list of medications just so we could have cats.
There are things we can do as he grows up to try to improve his immunity
to cats and other animals, but it isn't putting Sawyer first to make
him suffer in the mean time. Oh it was heart breaking! So I put the
word out to find a new home for the kittens. It didn't take long and a
friend from my childhood offered to take them both, which was great
because I really wanted them to stay together. When we got home, we
broke the news to Emma and Chloe. They were sad and angry and then just
sad. Chloe asked at one point if we could sell Sawyer at a garage
sale! She was only half joking, the little stinker. And Emma couldn't
stop the tears, she just kept saying, "I REALLY don't want them to go!"
On Saturday morning, we packed everything up and the girls came with me
to bring them to their new home. We all held up okay while we were
dropping them off, but on the way home, we all broke down. My friend's
older cats weren't too sure of these new creatures, naturally, and one
hissed at Mabel at one point. Little Mabel hissed back in her tiny his
and was shaking. Emma kept recounting how sad it made her to see Mabel
so scared and that they would have had a better life with us. And I
couldn't stop crying either, I think I was so focused on how much the
kids were suffering that I completely ignored how much this whole thing
was hurting my own heart. I wanted these kittens, they were MY babies!
I had been planning for them for months. But then it washed over me,
what a gift this experience was for my kids, for me, for all of us. It
was training ground for the heartaches of life, the disappointments that
leave us broken and sad. It is moments like these that are the places
we have to ask where our true joy comes from, what fulfills us, what is
God teaching us in the disappointments? And my heart smiled at my
Savior and He smiled back as I talked to the girls about this very truth
on the way home. And then Emma said she wanted to pray, and it was one
of the sweetest, most genuine prayers I've ever heard from her lips.
She told God about how sad we are and then thanked him for promising to
comfort us. And then she went through a list of gratitude, that we got
to have them for a week and that we got to give them to this new family
who would now get to love them. She thanked Him for all we DO have and
asked Him to help her be grateful. The pain didn't stop after we
prayed, but our perspectives did. And I praised the Lord for this hurt,
because it pointed our hearts to Him.
Good bye sweet kitties! We
loved you well for that precious week and we will never forget you!
Job 1:21- "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."
