Blocks 18 & 19

Block #18

my baby boy

Coke.

My 1st cat . .

big,

beautiful

and pure white.

He had belonged

to a teacher friend's sister.

She felt bad about having to leave him home alone so often.

Teri asked me if I would like him.

I said I'd try.

Poor 'Lissa . .

when she brought him to the house

you could tell sh was sad about leaving him

even though she knew he was going to a good home.

Paka wasn't quite sure

what to make out of  him.

But,

I think,

she thought he must be okay

if Mom was bringing him in.

Thinking of him makes me smile now.

He was such a lover cat.

One of those who loved to be petted

but not a pain.

Later on,

I adopted several more cats.

He was getting thinner

and I figured it was because he wasn't

being allowed to pig out anymore.

When I finally took him to the vet

I found out he had thyroid problems

and he had been losing weight because of them.

I never did ask what he weighed, but I know it was a low.

He ended up having thyroid surgery.

I found out that cats aren't like us,

then have smaller sections of their thyroid

down,

I believe,

in their spinal column.

So,

even though,

he was losing the main gland,

he would still have some thyroid activity going on.

My handsome little man

lived for 7 more years after his surgery.

Dr. Anderson was so proud of him.

I knew that every minute I had with him,

after his surgery,

was borrowed time.

Then,

I knew,

he was getting ready

to head over 

the Rainbow Bridge.

How does one know this?

You just know.

I came home one evening after school,

and I knew that

this afternoon was the day I had been dreading.

But his eyes told me,

"Mom, I'm ready to go see Paka.

I am just so tired."

I called Dr. Anderson.

They said to bring him out.

I did . .

and I was given the choice to stay with him,

or leave him.

How could I leave him?

He had trusted me for the past 18 years.

So I held him,

talked to him,

sent messages to those who went before,

and soon,

he was at peace . . .

and I cried.

Dr. hugged me and left us alone.

When I was ready to go

I told him that OI hoped when it was time for me to go

that someone loves me as much as I loved Coke . .

and that my Dr. takes as good care of me

as he did for Coke.

Now, you may ask,

why did I do his name in black with red whiskers

when he was a pure white cat?

This little guy,

I think,

was more dog than cat.

He

L-O-V-E-D

to clean up my bowl

after I ate anything with tomato sauce.

He would stick his whole head down into the bowl

and when he finally came up for air

his whiskers,

cheek hair,

chin hairs

and sometimes even

the hair on his forehead

would be stained red from the tomatoes.

He made me laugh every time.

Pure white cat,

red-ish/pink stained face

licking his front paws

to wipe off his face

and see if there was anything left on his face to eat.

What a man!

Block #19

looks just like It reads . . .

a red van for road trips.

This is the

BEST way

I can show my blessing

for having

Joyce Sandberg

in my life.

Somewhere,

I can't remember when,

she and her kids adopted me.

Our friendship

is kind of like a person's memory of childhood.

Certain things stand out,

but you can't remember that first occurrence

when you knew it was happening.

I had known Joyce since elementary school.

her brother Steve, and I,

were in the same class from k-12.

She had started substitute teaching

in our school.

When Clay and Kristi played basketball,

she ran the clock'

and I kept book.

From there,

it is all  history.

I went with her to

every baseball game

that Clay played out of town.

The same with Kristi

and her volleyball and basketball.

Oh,

and the 1st summer I ad Tavish,

I lived  by the softball field

and would carry Tavish over to watch Kristi play.

Poor litte thing . .

wanted to get down and play but I

"slung" her over my shoulder,

her front paws on y back,

and held on for dear life.

If I sat in the bleachers,

she was on my lap . .

under the tightest hold.

That summer paid off for Tavish.

From the 2nd summer on,

whenever we went anywhere,

she would

"ride"

on y shoulder,

looking at where we had been.

If we went up in the bleachers to sit,

she was on my lap watching the game.

PERFECT little athletic supporter.

But,

I digress.

When Kristi went to college,

I made road trips

with Joyce,

to watch all of her basketball games . .

both home

and away.

One Christmas vacation

our road trip took us to

Pennsylvania

and then

back through Ohio

to Indiana.

What fun,

and what indelible memories.

BUT,

there is more to this friendship/blessing.

Mom died in October.

Joyce invited me to her  home,

 for Christmas,

 with her extended family,

Christmas night.

At that point,

I knew that not only had she,

clay

and Kristi

had adopted me.

I was now

Jackie's

"step~daughter."

 "Step~sister" to

Jo,

Steve,

Bev and
Kenny.

"Step~aunt" to

Beth,

Megan,

Mandy,

Nathan,

Scott,

Jennifer

and Erin.

So,

in this deal,

I didn't only gain Joyce

as a friend for life.

I became Clay and Kristi's

"step~mom"

(you should have heard Kristi try to explain that one)

but I gained a whole family

who still include me

in their special events . . .

Dear Lord,

How can I thank you enough for both of the blessings I wrote about today? You sent them both to me when I needed more love in my life. In Your divine plan, you knew when the times wee right to introduce Coke to Paka and I. You also knew when I was ready for a family, at home, to adopt me.

You made sure that when I was the loneliest, there was someone there who cared. I shall thank you for the rest of my life for these  blessings.

Amen

(527)