Write with TLC

Kit, Little Loves Forevermore  (for Kit ) Your sweetness and light Shined through every day Whether you were setting Or enforcing Your boundaries Snuggling Baby Or your humans Protecting your kitty siblings From doggies walking past Or your human Mama  F rom a garter snake in the yard Telling the vet who was boss At every single visit          Just in case he forgot Chirping at the birds in the yard           Or on the television screen Chasing the sunny spots in the house Or sitting in front of the blazing fireplace You were always So very regal in play or rest From the very first moment You chose our home as yours And us as your family You brought sweetness and light To our lives Making you  Then and forevermore Mama’s Little Loves Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a purchase, I earn a commission at no additional cost to you. To learn more about me a...

Kit died on January 16, 2024 at   West Hills Animal Hospital   with her humans by her side. Kit's birth place and date remain a mystery.  She found her furever family in December 2008 when she came to live in our home. The vet estimated her be to between 2 and 3 years old at the time, so our best guess is she was born some time in 2006. Read Kit's origin story here. Kit always brought much personality to any space she inhabited.  She was fiercely independent and just as fiercely affectionate when she chose to be. She gave strong lessons in boundaries! As in respect hers! As in it became a common refrain to remind myself and others "Not without her permission." But, a little conversation usually resulted in cooperation. She generally got bored with toys quite quickly, but she loved her Baby (a stuffed mouse with coloring similar to hers) and Ballie (a soft brown ball). She carried them around the house and cuddled with them often ignoring all the other toys. She would...

We all experience grief. It is universal and unique all at once. Grief is devastating and grief is a gift. My forthcoming book of poetry, The Gift of Grief , (ebook available for preorder ) explores my journey through various bouts of grief. It took me a long time to embrace grief rather than fight it or ignore it or work to process it seeking an end date. Grief works on its own time. Embracing it brought me to a place where I could see the gift it brought to my life. I discovered that grief is something we learn to live with not something we process as a one-and-done. I really wanted to check off items to show progress like it was some kind of task list.  At times I felt like the waves of grief just couldn't end because as soon as I started feeling settled, I lost someone else, I sometimes felt like the grief was just too much. I began to realize this was probably true for many other people as well. Between 2020-2024, I grieved the deaths of several friends, myriad extended family...

Story of Todd (for Todd ) Todd May 14, 2009-February 2, 2024 Sleeping quietly All the others scampering Can’t take my eyes off Your little white and gray body Snuggled up against the edge I wait for you to wake up Keep glancing back Finally, I can’t wait any longer I pick you up Your brilliant blue eyes Capture my heart In less than a beat You yawn Not scared Not too excited Not agitated Settle in Home Bringing you home You bounce through the house With such enthusiasm Snuggles and pets Kneads and kisses Purring so much and so loud Always so happy Yet so very sensitive To noise To upheaval To chaos You loved hard You played hard You lived hard Always looking for a new challenge Entertaining yourself and us You were life personified Tenacious to the very end Loving to the very end Filling our hearts day after day Beyond the very end Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on tho...

Todd (aka Toddy) died on February 2, 2024 at West Hills Animal Hospital with his humans by his side. He was born in California on May 14, 2009 and brought to Oregon by Safehaven Humane Society shortly thereafter and given the name Powder. He chose us as his family in July 2009 when we met him at Safehaven. From day one, Todd was a loving, sweet, gentle cat who wanted everyone - human and cat alike - he loved to be happy and peaceful. He loved both his humans and both his kitty sisters.  He purred so frequently and so loudly that on his first visit to the vet, Dr. Glaze proclaimed "He's purring so loud I can't hear his heartbeat."  He became easily bored with toys but always loved a new one. He loved to run through tunnels and chase dangling things. He would challenge himself by climbing up the six-foot cat tree using only his front legs. Boxes full of packing paper always made him happy. He didn't care for the outdoors though he did give it a try a few times. He...

Often when we long for one thing that craving is simply a mask for the thing we really want.  When I crave Grandma Stamm’s macaroni and tomatoes, boiled potatoes, or chocolate cake, it’s not the taste I want.  No one can ever duplicate her cooking even if they follow her recipes to the letter.  Grandma made those with her special love, and that’s what I really crave.  Grandma died twenty years ago, and I still long to spend time with her. She often expressed her love through cooking.  Every Sunday she fixed favorite dishes for family and friends she expected to visit.  There were no invitations, no RSVPs, no formality.  People wandered in and out of her house Sunday afternoon and into the evening.  They fixed a plate of food from the bowls and platters of food kept warm in the oven, played a game of cards, and chatted about the week past and the coming week.  She’d lay her cards down to greet the newest visitors, and after much protest, retur...

Sometimes we're going about life and all seems to be running smoothly. The bills are paid. Work is going well. There's even a few dollars in the savings account. Family and friends are healthy and happy. Pets are doing well. We even have time to play. Life is working. We relax. We think "I could get used to this." Then boom... boom... boom... Life interrupts itself. Still, we're certain we can handle what's coming our way. This one thing and that one. It throws our schedule all wonky, but it's temporary. We can handle it. We know we can. We set up systems and plans and schedules because we know that's the best way to keep on track or at least stay close to on track. But... Life has other ideas. The next thing we know, our priorities have completely shifted and we're doing good to keep the basics done because life has decided all our planning is a joke. Life sets out to prove that all those ways we learned to cope with the expected unexpected won...

Me Me Me Meme May 7, 2009-March 31, 2021 (for Meme )   Your tiny face looked up Introducing you not by name But by attitude You would not be forgotten A week later you reminded us You belonged in our home And then you introduced yourself To the kitten in my arms Claimed him in your charming way And home with us you both came. This was your home On naughty days and nice days Your cute face looking up  Reintroducing yourself every time Making sure we never forgot you Knew who you were and what you wanted Always letting us know you chose us Until the very last moment When we had to let you go I hope you never regretted your choice We did our best to make your life  As wonderful as you made ours Every time you looked up and said Me me me…

Meme May 7, 2009-March 31, 2021 Meme (pronounced Me-Me) died on March 31, 2021 at Albany Animal Hospital with her humans by her side. She was born Stitch in a Safehaven Humane Society foster home in Oregon on May 7, 2009.  She chose us as her new family in July 2009 when we met her at Safehaven.  From the moment she joined our family, she made her presence known and earned her new name with her adorably sweet "me me me" ways. She was affectionate and opinionated. She was attached to her humans and didn't care for strangers. She hated being outside but would watch our every move (and the neighbors, too) from the window.  She loved dragging her fishy pole all over the house, up and down the stairs, to drop at our feet and demand we play with her. She loved to sit on our laps or to hide under covers with equal devotion. She complained loudly whenever I unloaded the dishwasher. She loved nutritional yeast and catnip. Meme communicated in numerous ways from intense looks, to...

Daddy with a few of the Case tractors he restored Idle Hands (for Daddy )   Never one for idle hands You created and built A lifetime of memories and moments You left behind a legacy Of love and hard work You handed your family The callouses you earned On hands never idle Held to the very end In love and understanding Your hands building and rebuilding Making the old new again Seeing the puzzle of the broken As a challenge to make whole again What others couldn’t see Those hands never idle Even to the very end Taking care of everyone With actions greater than words Rest now Let your loving, calloused hands finally be idle