You will be missed...

My family's very first and beloved cat Belle (pictured above closest to my dad's face) died Wednesday night. She was the very best cat in the whole world. She was sweet, loving, and befriended even those of us that are by nature "dog" people.

We got Belle when I was very young...probably 11 or 12. My mom's friend dropped off two kittens around Christmas time. The intention was to bring them to a friend's farm in the morning. Well, with three little girls at home...that didn't happen. My sisters would dress Belle up in doll clothes, put her in their baby cradle, and treated her like another little sister rather than a kitten. Belle never made a fuss. She was always very good natured.

As Belle grew older, she was like a grandma to us, running up to say hello when we would come home from school and snuggling with us when we were sad. Belle had an innate human-ness to her that made you feel like she truly "understood" what you were saying and how you were feeling. I will miss her very much.

I think what gets to me the most isn't the fact that my cat is gone. She was very old and I always knew that she would pass soon. I feel as though her death is a little more symbolic...the ending of an era. As a new chapter of my life begins...marriage, motherhood, adulthood - another one closes.