One of my friends (I will not say her name out of respect for her privacy- let's call her Jill for now) has had a week of losses. She is not married and her cats are her children. Several years ago she rescued an adult Maine Coon she named Charlie Brown. It took months for her to get him to stay out from under the bed. Then he began sleeping on the bed with her, then he began sleeping on her and she became his person. Charlie Brown was the upstairs cat and had little or no interactions with the other cats. I remember how excited Jill was when Charlie Brown began coming to the top of the stairs to greet her. There were lots of Charlie Brown stories and I always looked forward to hearing the latest adventure. From the beginning he had urinary problems and had the most attentive and best care and treatment any cat could wish for. This last episode was just too much for him though. I got a call early last Friday morning from Jill asking if I could come to the Emergency Vet and sit with her because Charlie Brown had become unresponsive in the wee hours. Shortly after I got there the Vet broke the news that he was not going to make it. I helped her take Charlie Brown home and we called Derrick, the guy who does both our yards to ask if he could come bury him. It was heart wrenching to see the pain and loss on her face as we waited. She picked out a burial spot in a shaded area of her garden and when the three guys showed up the five of us proceeded in a single line funeral procession down the stepping stones to the site. After the grave was dug and Charlie Brown was placed, one of the guys asked if she wanted to say anything before the grave was covered. I didn't think she would be able to say anything but she said yes she would like to say the Lord's prayer. We all bowed our heads and Jill began to recite the prayer - then right at the end she began reciting some other prayer. When she finished, she said she didn't know exactly what she got off on and Derrick said "You must not have been praying much lately" and that made us all laugh (which was badly needed). They placed a wrought iron cross to mark the grave and we left Charlie Brown to rest in peace.
Yesterday Jill called to say that one of her "outside kitties" Sophie was missing. I told her to not give up yet because Mary George (my cat) was missing for two weeks one time and then just suddenly showed back up early one morning and walked right in and announced herself. I was hoping that Sophie would return yesterday. Then this morning I got an email from Jill saying that she and Derrick buried Sophie this morning. She found her next door on the neighbor's carport. Sophie, was a stray that showed up several years ago and Jill tried and tried to get her to come inside but Sophie never would and would never let Jill pet her. She was provided ample food and shelter and veterinary care and love from a distance (since that's all she'd allow) - but I know she knew she was loved all the same.
There are angels among us and in this case I think it went both ways. Charlie Brown and Sophie were sent to fill a certain spot in a heart and life that was big enough to take them in and love them and my friend Jill was there when they needed her most.
There is a lesson to be learned here...I believe that there are angels among us. They come in different shapes, sizes, colors, gender and species. There may be one right under our nose and if we don't take the time to look we may miss seeing them and therefore miss a real blessing.
