ODE TO GHITA (journal entry & poem)

    NOW: Journal entry July 12, 2013

    I have put off writing about this recent event in my life because it still hurts a lot, but pain is to be faced, shared, and (usually as a result of the first two) lessened.

    For Mother's Day we went to the beach. My best friend/sister Mary and I cooked up the plan. We took all four of our sons and my spousal unit. Another good friend and her daughter joined us and we all had a wonderful time. I had invited my parents and all my sisters and my sister's kids, but they all, for one reason or another, declined. Those of us that went certainly enjoyed the sunshine and the sea, nearly as well as the company. It was a marvelous time!

    In the car, on the way home, they told me that my dear Ghita had died. Following Mary's advice, the menfolk had waited until the vacation was over to tell me. The housesitter had called on Mother's Day to let my sons and husband know that the cat was gone. Mary had heard and told them it would ruin my entire vacation to know it now and there was nothing anyone could do. So, they told me when we loaded the car up and headed for home. I starred out the window and cried. My sweet and lovely Ghita. My best fur friend. My companion when everyone else deemed me in a mood so foul I was unfit for company. I would never again see her little eyes squinting my way, never again hear the sweet song of her bone-deep purring, never again feel her soft fur under my fingertips, or wince from her sharp little nails massaging me. My eyes cried for days...My heart may cry forever...