What a day!

We started our day early today; even Daddy was still getting ready for work. We headed out to the zoo with the spouses group and several of our friends. Hannah had a blast. We stayed late and had lunch there at the zoo. We got to see very active penguins and several gorillas (which we couldn't find last time). Thank you Laura for telling us so much about them! I got several pictures, but will have to post them tomorrow. I got Hannah to sleep at 9 and I am heading there myself soon. Dan is also going to sleep early because he is fighting off a cold. UGH!

When we got home, Hannah threw a fit about taking a nap. She fought and screamed so hard I gave in and let her stay up a little while. She asked to call her Grammy and Poppy (my mom and dad). Well, my dad informed me that he was on the way to the vet to put my cat to sleep. :(

I knew he had been sick for a long time, but it's still never news you want to hear. Apparently, he has been losing weight rapidly and not eating. He has been taking a few sips of water for a few days, but not using his littler box. We were all kind of praying he would pass away in his sleep last night. He was so lethargic today, they decided it was time. I think the worst part was just knowing that I couldn't be there to hold him while he went.

We rescued this cat from the wild during a very bad winter 10years ago. We aren't sure of his age when we rescued him, but we assumed he was still pretty young (under a year). I made my parents keep him and I named him Tom because he was such a tom cat. He had severe respiratory issues from the time we found him, probably from an illness during his first year. He always breathes and snores really loudly. His chest sort of rattles when he purrs. Since he was really mine anyway, when I moved into my own apartment during college, my parents were thrilled to let me take him to live with me. I wasn't allowed to have pets so I strategically positioned his litter box and he knew to hide under the bed if maintenance came in. He was more like a dog than a cat. He would come when I called him, or snapped my fingers. I let him sleep in bed with me and couldn't sleep well when I stayed away from him because I missed the rhythmic sound of his rattled breathing and snoring. Dan is deathly allergic to cats, so I would have to vacuum when he came over and keep Tom from laying on him, although he always tried to anyway. When we got married, I let my parents take Tom back to stay with them. We lived in the same city and I got to see him often and cuddle with him. I have missed him so much this last year and hate it that I wasn't with him as he got sick. I really wish I was with him today to say goodbye. My mom wouldn't even take a picture of him because she said he looked too sick. I will have to find an old picture later. I know I have many.

I will miss him so very much.