On Friday morning when I was on my way up to Flagstaff with my buddy I got a call from my sister letting me know that our family cat Sara had passed that morning. Luckily it was before I had left town and I was able to come to visit my mom and pet her body one last time before my mom took her to be cremated.
Sara was in my life for 19 and a half years, so in my life, that means age 10 to 29. I remember when we first got her and I named her Sara after a girl I had a crush on in 6th grade. Little did I know that my life partner would also be named Sara (whom I call Wolfie partly to help differentiate her from the cat lol).
Sara and I shared many special moments together and from an early age on she became an outdoor cat because she had peed on the furniture a couple times. Much of our time was spent cuddling and enjoying each other’s company on the back patio looking at the backyard, the plants, and watching the different birds and other cats come and go. She saw me go through it all, the days of drinking and partying, when I used to sneakily smoke cigarettes in the backyard, talking to her about girls and life, and witness me through all my different phases in high school (gothic, super-religious, philosophical, and military) as well as all the other shenanigans that I went through in my teenage and college years. She was always there to show unconditional love and purr her heart out no matter what time of day. I was always able to come back home and know that if I went out back she would come out to see me.
Over the past year, her age began to catch up to her. She got considerably thinner and was having a harder time keeping herself and the places she slept clean. I remember giving her baths and even though she normally hated baths, I could tell she appreciated the attention and being clean again. I also thank my mom for all the extra effort to take care of her over the past couple of years. Even though life was gradually getting more difficult for her, that didn’t stop her from purring her heart out and making an effort to walk over and see me. These past few years, I remember working summer jobs out of state and out of country hoping that she would still be alive so that I could visit her when I got back home and am very thankful I was able to see her again after coming back from Norway.
I am thankful for having the honor and blessing to have such a loving being in my life and I will miss you, Sara. Thank you for loving me as much as you did and all the times you were there for me. My life was better because you were in it.
Paul with Sara the cat and his girlfriend Sara
