This is my cat, Seiya.  She loves nothing more than to lounge around in bed all day.  Unless, of course, she’s sitting by the radiator.  Otherwise the appeal of a fluffy down comforter is too much for her to resist.  At least it doesn’t show her fur!  In fact, she blends in so well I don’t always realize she’s there.   Luckily those beautiful, bi-colored eyes of hers made her presence quite obvious on this day.

The past several weeks have been an emotional roller coaster.  The first – and saddest – event was the loss of my grandfather…my godfather…my Pepere.  He was an amazing man.  Everyone who was lucky enough to meet him couldn’t help but love him – family and friends, of course, but even waitresses, bank tellers, and whoever else he dealt with on a daily basis.  None of us was ready to let him go just yet.  His illness came on so suddenly, and within a couple of weeks…he was gone.

While I was coping with the loss of my grandfather, I noticed one of my cats wasn’t behaving like himself.  I took him to the vet to find out was wrong.  After many tests that didn’t give us any concrete diagnosis, I took him to a specialist.  It turns out he has carcinoma in his lymph nodes, and it’s effected his entire system.  He’s on a special diet and medication to help with the swelling of his organs.  Other than that, all we can do is wait.  When it gets to the point where he’s suffering and his quality of life is diminished, we’ll have to have him put down.  The change in food and meds seems to have made an immediate difference, but I know that won’t last.  The vet predicted he’ll be gone within a matter of weeks.

My life hasn’t been all doom and gloom these days, however.  After 2 years of trying, including three IUI’s (intrauterine insemination) and five attempts at in-vitro fertilization, my husband and I are finally having a baby.  I like to think that my Pepere put in a good word for me with the Big Guy upstairs.