Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Cleo


Yesterday I said good-bye to a friend I've had for over 17 years: our kitty Cleo. She has declined in health over the last six months, losing her eye sight and a lot of her hearing. She has valiantly "ping ponged" around our home, looking for her food and our comforting laps for quite awhile. Having her here was a link to my daughter Kristy who has grown up and moved away. Kristy picked out this black/grey tabby with big eyes and wispy fur when she was five and so much my little girl. Now Kristy is a wife and mother. My sadness at letting Cleo go was intensified because it made the reality of Kristy's absence all the more final.

We have all cried for our loss, but rejoiced for Cleo's restored heavenly body. When Abbey said the blessing on the food last night she said, "Heavenly Father, please bless Cleo. And bless her with extra birds to chase." That pretty much summed it up.

As I held Cleo in her last moments I marveled at her life and how small her body is in comparison to all she gave our family. Her spirit is so much more than the soft body I held, so much more than the wet nose I stroked. Cleo is a joy and some lucky Heavenly Being is enjoying her purrs and unconditional love right now.

Our lives go on and somehow seem more precious for having known Cleo and been with her all of her 17 1/2 years. I love my family and I'm so glad there is more than this mortal existence that is so fragile and so imperfect. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for my earthly experience and the simple joys of life. Tonight, according to Abbey, we went to Tithing Sediment." It is good that there are things to count on and things to remind us of our blessings. Paying tithing does that for me, and when Abbey linked it to the earth we live on, it was a reminder to me that what we do on this earth is important, it is recognized and counted, no matter how small, no matter how unflashy it might be. We come from the dust of the earth, but we are also made of the cloths of heaven. There is a beautiful poem by Yeats with that term I think.

1 comment:

Kristy said...

Beautifully expressed, Mom! And I want that picture! Love you!