In my profile, I refer to our "crotchety old cat" named Linus.
Well, I laugh about him but he really was a sweet old guy.
We adopted Linus and his litter mate, Lucy, from the SPCA in May of 1995. Alex was in kindergarten at the time and we thought it would be a cool idea to have me bring the kittens in for show and tell one day. So we made arrangements with his teacher and I did just that. What a disaster! The kids were so excited and the kittens were scared to death! There was one girl in his class who had Downs Syndrome and she just wanted to squeeze them. Well, they survived and I learned a valueable lesson...don't take kittens for show and tell with a bunch of 5/6 year olds. Dumb idea!
Linus and Lucy were great cats. Cats are pretty easy to take care of and they were no exception. Caity quickly adopted Lucy as her own and Alex did the same with Linus.
I'd love to say that they were extremely helpful in taking care of them but lets be real. They fed them and changed the litter boxes when nagged enough. But they loved those two cats just the same.
So this last year has been sad for us. Last August, we were forced to have Lucy put down after she developed kidney disease. This was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. Dave and I took her to the vet and stayed with her through the end. We were very sad but we knew we were doing the best thing for Lucy.
Linus seemed to take it pretty well. Of course he didn't understand where his sister went, just that she was gone. We tried to give him a lot of extra attention.
So in the pst few months, I was noticing Linus loosing weight and not eating. He started to develop some other symptoms and so I took him to the vet. She gave him some medicine and he seemed to be getting better.
We left for vacation a week ago and he was starting to not look so good again. I said I would take him back to the vet when I got home. Alex was keeping an eye on him while we were gone.
Unfortunately, Linus didn't make it until we got home. He passed away on August 21.
Most unfortunately, Alex was the one to find him. This makes me sad beyond belief because he really loved that cat.
So now Linus and Lucy are together again in "kitty heaven" (and no, I don't want to have a theological discussion on whether such a place exists or not. :)
The house isn't the same without them.
Rest in Peace Linus and Lucy, we miss you!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Getting something off my chest
This will be a bit of a different post for me. Warning...it's about politics!
Ok...so I have been thinking about a blog post I read recently where the poster questions why most Christians consider themselves"conservative" politcally.
That blogger also defines conservatives as not wanting "change." Change has become the buzzword of choice for the democratic party during this election cycle. I'm not sure but I would bet that if someone had thought of it, it could have been used during the 2000 election as well. That was the one where most of us wanted a "change" from the philanderer who was holding the office of president at that time. But I digress. I don't think conservatives are against change.
First of all, there are many aspects of conservatism. There is fiscal/economic conservatism, which I admit, I don't know that much about. Economics was never my "thing" although I know it's a very important issue.
Then there is Social conservatism. This covers issues like abortion, gay marraige, capital punishment, gun control, etc. I admit I am split right down the middle on this one. When in comes to social issues, I tend to fall mostly on the liberal side of things. I said MOSTLY. That doesn't mean totally.
The issue that put me over the fence onto the conservative side is the issue of national security.
Let me say that even though I have been a military wife as well as the daughter and grand daughter of soldiers and the sister of an airman, I really never concerned myself too much with military issues. That was until September 11, 2001. That was the day that changed so much for so many people in the world. For me, it made me consider how sticking my head in the sand for so many years made me so narrow minded. It made me realize that (even though I knew this) there was real, true evil alive and well in this world and something had to be done to irradicate it. It made me MAD! Really, really mad!
I was so proud of my country as they stood by all of the firefighters, police and military members and recognized the sacrifices those in uniform make every day for all of us. It was so heart warming to see all of the American flags...everywhere. Not only the front steps of homes but on cars, lapels, scarves, you name it. Patriotism was everywhere and never have I been so proud to be an American. George Bush's approval rating was through the roof as we all wanted to see justice done. We wanted to not only see those who attacked us brought to justice but we wanted to feel safe, that we were not going to be attacked again.
This is where my politics changed. You see, in 2000, I had voted for Al Gore!
But, unfortunately, things "changed" (there is that word again.)
We Americans who love our country so much, can be pretty short sighted.
Slowly, the flags came down. Support for Bush's aggresive plan to combat terror deteriorated. A lot of people didn't understand why we would invade Iraq when they had not attacked us. I guess they wanted to wait for another attack, which was inevitable had we not acted.
So this is the biggest issue for me in choosing a president. I realize gas prices, health care, and the economy are extremely important. But none of that matters if we are not safe.
I will never forget how I felt that day and I hope I never have to feel it again.
In closing, yes, I think Jesus was probably a liberal. I know those who hurt us would be forgiven if they accepted Christ. But until then, I want my family to be able to take a trip or go to a ball game without the danger of some nut job blowing them up. So I vote for safety over anything else.
Ok...so I have been thinking about a blog post I read recently where the poster questions why most Christians consider themselves"conservative" politcally.
That blogger also defines conservatives as not wanting "change." Change has become the buzzword of choice for the democratic party during this election cycle. I'm not sure but I would bet that if someone had thought of it, it could have been used during the 2000 election as well. That was the one where most of us wanted a "change" from the philanderer who was holding the office of president at that time. But I digress. I don't think conservatives are against change.
First of all, there are many aspects of conservatism. There is fiscal/economic conservatism, which I admit, I don't know that much about. Economics was never my "thing" although I know it's a very important issue.
Then there is Social conservatism. This covers issues like abortion, gay marraige, capital punishment, gun control, etc. I admit I am split right down the middle on this one. When in comes to social issues, I tend to fall mostly on the liberal side of things. I said MOSTLY. That doesn't mean totally.
The issue that put me over the fence onto the conservative side is the issue of national security.
Let me say that even though I have been a military wife as well as the daughter and grand daughter of soldiers and the sister of an airman, I really never concerned myself too much with military issues. That was until September 11, 2001. That was the day that changed so much for so many people in the world. For me, it made me consider how sticking my head in the sand for so many years made me so narrow minded. It made me realize that (even though I knew this) there was real, true evil alive and well in this world and something had to be done to irradicate it. It made me MAD! Really, really mad!
I was so proud of my country as they stood by all of the firefighters, police and military members and recognized the sacrifices those in uniform make every day for all of us. It was so heart warming to see all of the American flags...everywhere. Not only the front steps of homes but on cars, lapels, scarves, you name it. Patriotism was everywhere and never have I been so proud to be an American. George Bush's approval rating was through the roof as we all wanted to see justice done. We wanted to not only see those who attacked us brought to justice but we wanted to feel safe, that we were not going to be attacked again.
This is where my politics changed. You see, in 2000, I had voted for Al Gore!
But, unfortunately, things "changed" (there is that word again.)
We Americans who love our country so much, can be pretty short sighted.
Slowly, the flags came down. Support for Bush's aggresive plan to combat terror deteriorated. A lot of people didn't understand why we would invade Iraq when they had not attacked us. I guess they wanted to wait for another attack, which was inevitable had we not acted.
So this is the biggest issue for me in choosing a president. I realize gas prices, health care, and the economy are extremely important. But none of that matters if we are not safe.
I will never forget how I felt that day and I hope I never have to feel it again.
In closing, yes, I think Jesus was probably a liberal. I know those who hurt us would be forgiven if they accepted Christ. But until then, I want my family to be able to take a trip or go to a ball game without the danger of some nut job blowing them up. So I vote for safety over anything else.
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