There are those quintessential moments in your life that, however brief, stay with you forever.
She was tiny, and a little, well, no, a lot slow.. She wasn't good with keeping up with her sibling, but she had heart and determination that would not quit. She was white with black spots, and I laughingly named her "cow" for the guy that had her.
The more I watched her when he would bring her around, the more I fell for the crooked way she walked, and those big eyes and the way she would purr loud enough to hear her three blocks away when you just touched her.
I went home each day, for two monthes, telling the Ubar that I was bringing home a kitten....
Mutter, grumble, grouch, mutter, mumble grumble, cuss me for the "duffinator" and swear we didn't need any more...
*waving a hand* yeah, whatever, I am bringing you home a kitten.
I kept watching her over the two monthes, and she got better at walking, she could even bounce a little, but she was still slow, and fell down a lot, but she had made progress, so I hoped she would just grow out of it cause she had been so little and all..
Till, finally, the day came, I brought her home.. I came in from work, hollering"Honey~ honey, come here".. From the dark recesses of the hallway down to the computer room, I heard, "What?".. I set her on the couch, and stomped my feet.. "Come HERE!"..
I heard "mutter mumble grumble grouch mutter grumble" accompanied by the sounds of Ubar movement... I waited.. He reached the living room... I pointed to the couch... He growled... He looked...
He melted... (Ever seen a huge man melt?)
"Is that for me?"
"Yes, I named her cow"
"You canNOT call her cow. She is tiny and delicate and beautiful. And, she is mine"
He picked her up and she didn't even fill his massive hands, but she purred.. omg how she purred... He carried her to his computer, he sat her there where he types.. she made messes, he didn't care, she ate his chicken, he didn't care.. she curled up to sleep on his arm, making it impossible to use it to type.. He typed with one hand. He named her "Dina" because she was a delicate flower.
She wobbled continuously, but she knew she was her "Daddy's baby girl".. she would torment Duffy till he pounced her and then howl, and Daddy would save her.. She kept falling down, she would yowl totally irritated, but she would just fight her way back up and get on with things.. She never quit, she never gave up, and she loved completely when anyone would touch her or pet her or put her in the bed to sleep with them.
Ubar built a handicap ramp for the litter box so she could get in and out of it better. When that didn't work, he customized an old dish pan to accomodate her..
She stopped getting better, but she didn't give up.. We didn't care that she was not perfect.. No one is perfect. She loved and was loved tremendously, completely. Duffy would even watch out for her.. If she was headed for the potty, and not getting there fast enough, he would pick her up and carry her there. He would bathe her, he would let her eat first out of the dish, he kept a watchful eye on her all the time.. If she had a problem, he would hassle me till I went to see.. She never gave up.
She started to have seizures.. but she never gave up.. We knew we were gonna lose her, but we kept hoping because of her sheer will to be... I nicknamed her "Chew Choo" because she was always eating and always like that little engine that could...She wasn't in pain, we knew this, because she never stopped purring when you touched her.. Any time she yowled, it was because her legs wouldn't cooperate and she was pissed..
She began to go downhill.... Finally, she just didn't wake up after one warm loved night asleep in her Daddy's arms. He had been in the hospital, but she held on till He got home..
Brief but spectacular, her short time with us. She is with Rika and Major, learning how to bunnyhop from Rika and I am sure that Major is just looking at her like "Jeeez, why is Dad making me look out for cats"
She touched us so very deeply...
Love and determination and willpower like that .. She was all heart...
