Cassie...

We woke up this morning and started the day...just like every other day.  Jason left for work and the girls and I were getting dressed to meet my Mom and Dad for breakfast...when Jason came back into the house and yelled for me.  I followed him out the door and ran after him to the driveway.

There laid Cassie, our 14 year old tabby cat.  The cat I adopted when she was 8 weeks old from the animal shelter while I was in college.  The same cat who had traveled with us from Atlanta to Kansas City, back to Atlanta and finally to our home in Charlotte.  The same cat who acted more like a dog- drank out of the toilet, followed us when we took walks, bathed the dogs while they were sleeping as if they were her pups.

As I realized that we had lost her, I was flooded with all kinds of emotions- bewilderment, guilt, and of course...mind-numbing sadness.  She was the first life I was responsible for- she was my first child. She taught me that I could be nurturing, and caring and that I could take care of another soul.  She was often cranky, was affectionately called "the devil cat" more than once...but she wanted to be with you.  She wanted to feel you near her, she wanted to keep you in her sights, and when you least expected it, she would give you a lick...and then another and another until you felt as if your skin was being slowly sanded off.

More than anything...as I have gone through the day today, I am realizing how big a part this crazy cat has played in our family.  I already miss her morning greeting and her flopping over directly in my path to be rubbed, but more than anything I miss her presence. I miss KNOWING she is there.

I am lonely today...even though I have been surrounded by people all day.  

Goodbye Cassie...thank you for being a part of "us"...you will be missed...you are missed.  

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