We had to say goodbye to my kitty tonight. . . she'd gotten really sick… She'd been a part of our family for longer than I have been alive, and I wasn't quite ready to let her go. She was a sister and a best friend.

When my parents brought me home for the first time, they had trouble keeping her out of my crib, because she adopted me almost instantly and wanted to cuddle with the baby. She used to sit outside my door and cry until they'd let her see me, and when my brother was born she used to pace between our rooms to make sure we were both okay.

She was always around throughout my childhood and was endlessly patient with the two kids that trapped her in laundry baskets and pulled on her fur. She taught me patience and grace, and spent hours of silence with me while I hid in my books. Down to these last days she has always been so strong and beautiful, and will always have my respect.

We lost her brother a few years ago, and even now I miss him to the point of tears almost every day, and I am not handling losing her too very well.

Miss you to the end of days, Mama.

Rest in peace.