It’s been a year today since I said goodbye to my best gal. It’s hard to believe that a whole year has passed. How has it been that long since she was here?
When we were young…
I struggled to find the words for today’s post. Rather than force it, I’m going to go get some Tavish snuggles and reminisce about my Bella.
Missing that face today and every day.
Riddle me this, dear reader… is there anything you would erase from your mind if you were given the option to forget something completely?
That’s right. I’m getting all Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on you today. (Although, for the sake of this exercise, let’s assume that there are no odd side effects or shady corporate employees to consider.)
So, what would it be? The red pill or the blue one? If you choose to forget, what memory would you erase? It could be anything – a relationship that ended badly, the loss of someone important to you, or an embarrassing moment.
I spent a lot of time thinking about my answer to this question. Continue reading
Have you always lived with an animal? College was the only chapter of my life when I didn’t live with a pet. (There was a brief period when I had fish, but it’s safe to say that I was not meant to be a fish parent.) Dogs and cats weren’t allowed in campus housing – and, truthfully, irresponsible college students aren’t in the best position to take care of living beings anyway.
However, we did occasionally watch Molly, a Basset Hound that belonged to the parents of one of my roommates. We’d sneak her in for a few days here and there. She brought some much-needed fur and slobber to our on-campus apartment.
As soon as I graduated and got a place of my own, I started thinking about adopting a pet. A few months after graduation, Bella moved in… and the rest is history.
College was on my mind today after I watched the video below. (Also, the puppies kind of remind me of Bella – especially the one with only a single ear in the air.) If only there had been regular puppy stampedes* at my alma mater…
*I have more to say about puppy stampedes. Check back on Thursday…
Do you remember when you first fell in love with animals? I was thinking about this today, but I couldn’t identify a specific moment. I just know that I always really loved animals. I loved playing with the dogs and cats at other people’s houses.
Despite the name of this blog, my first pet was actually a cat. I was around three years old, and I fell in love with a white kitten. I named her Buttercup, and she was all mine.
Thinking about the next scratch…
Frankly, she was kind of a jerk sometimes. Every night, she would hop up on my bed and demand to be petted. When she’d had enough, she would scratch me and then run away. It was our nightly routine for years. However, she eventually outgrew that behavior… with one exception. Until she left us, Buttercup would resurrect the old pet n’ bite routine every time my cousin J would come to visit.
That being said, Buttercup was my jerk, and I loved her dearly. She provided endless entertainment – whether she was bringing a live bat into the house or going completely limp the one time we tried to put a harness on her. (Seriously, she froze in place and didn’t get up until we took it off of her.) She was part Siamese and would occasionally favor us with the song (the yowl?) of her people. I adored her in all of her quirky glory. I miss her (and having a feline in my life).
So, tell me… who was your first pet?
My fellow Blogarians,
As you may have noticed, posts have been pretty sparse around these parts for the past few months. April and May were busy months for me – I went on a real vacation (to the Bahamas) for the first time in ages, went to New York twice, and then went to Vegas for a quick weekend. During the same time period, I was preparing to transition to a new job (which I started in June).
In May, we also had to say goodbye to our beloved Bella. Although the past few months have been busy and full of changes, it’s this last event that had the most impact. Most days, I didn’t even think about blogging. When I did occasionally log into the blog, I’d find myself staring at a blank screen.
I did begin to wonder if and when I’d find the motivation to start this whole thing up again. Then, a friend posted about the August edition of NaBloPoMo – basically, you sign up and commit to post daily for the month. I wasn’t sure if I should do it, but then I read the theme for the month.
It’s all about memories.
Kind of perfect, right? I’ve been a bit consumed by memories lately, after all. I’m hoping that signing up for NaBloPoMo will serve two purposes: (1) to help me get my blogging groove back and (2) to help me move forward while I’m looking back.
I realize that I started yesterday off with a somber post, but I promise it won’t be all doom and gloom over here. Perhaps I’ll even recapture some of my whimsy and manage to make it rain on your face from laughter as opposed to sadness. No Frown Friday might even return from its long vacation. We’ll see how it goes.
Stay tuned…
… or, in this case, your Bella.
I was thinking recently about all of the things – both little and not-so-little – that have changed around here since we lost Bella in May. Sometimes it seems like I’m surrounded by a thousand tiny reminders on any given day.
Loosely inspired by this song, here are twenty (out of countless) ways I miss my Bella:
How I miss that sweet and silly face…
Today, on the last day of the year, I’m taking the totally original approach of reflecting on 2013. I don’t see a lot of this out there, which I find surprising – I mean, you’d think it would be a natural fit. I can only hope that my trailblazing example will inspire more reflection in the future as one year passes the torch to the next.
Sarcasm duly noted? Good. Because I know every website on Earth (and perhaps Mars?) is doing the same thing… and I don’t care. Nostalgia is my absolute favorite kind of -algia, and I finally put down a deposit on a nice little bungalow on Memory Lane. (It just makes good financial sense.) Let the reflecting begin! Continue reading
