In the landscape of the heart, you rarely know when you are entering a valley.
There are no billboards shouting, “Now Entering One Of The Saddest Months Of Your Life!”
Perhaps this is for the best.
If you had shown us previews of March 2025, we would have been paralyzed with fear. To lose Grecca, Boobalah, Mr. Man, or Lola would take us to the deepest chasm of grief. To lose Grecca, Boobalah, Mr. Man, and Lola could not be endured.
(Note that our “Forever Loved” posts for Mr. Man and Lola will be coming soon.)
On February 28th, a lifetime ago, we could not have survived this canyon. I am still not sure how we did.
All I can say is that the strength came when we needed it, and not one hour before. It was as though someone was tearing off tiny pieces of bread, feeding us just enough to endure one loss at a time.
We arrive at April aching for our friends, and clinging to each other. There are no strays at Tabby’s Place, just one sturdy caravan of love. No one gets left in the valley alone. Staff, volunteers, donors, and friends take turns carrying each other on our backs.
It is safe to fall apart here. You will never hear the words “get over it.”
You will never be the same after the canyon. But perhaps that, too, is for the best.
Valleys only exist because of mountains. Grecca, Boo, Mr. Man, and Lola were our Everests. They were the Himalayas of our hearts. Today, they see us from great heights. They urge us onward.
There will never be another Grecca, Boobalah, Mr. Man, or Lola. But there is a cat out there who needs us. She has no idea she is climbing the mountain today. There are no billboards shouting, “You Are About To Be Utterly Adored!”
If you showed her what April is about to give her, she might not believe you.
We will barely believe just how much we will love her.
March, we can’t write you off as wholly horrid. We are glad you are over, but far gladder for the gifts amid the grief:
Arrived: Merrill, Jericho, Tootsie, Squentin Tarantino, Smoothie, Bernard, Julien, Corbin, Veronica, Reggie, Annie, Mikey, Clifford, Kitty Purry, Leonardo Di Catrio
Adopted: Caramel & Agave (together), Antar, Cleveland, Velcro, Sienna, Phil, Bella, Jamie, Shania, Lina, Peter, Mistletoe, Leia, Pegasus
Returned: Brownie
Promoted to the Community Room: Bob
Promoted to the Lobby: All Twenty-One Pounds of Cinderblock, Glorious Be He; all two pounds of Berry, ditto
Promoted to Heaven: Grecca, Boobalah, Mr. Man, Lola
Stuff We Learned: Naming a cat “Squentin Tarantino” does not fix everything. But it sure helps. (More on this eminent individual soon.)
April, please be kind. But whatever the lines on your landscape, know this: our love lines are stronger than death. We take care of each other in this Tabby’s Place family. And if we get scared — when we get scared — our best friends, Grecca, Boobalah, Mr. Man, and Lola are still taking care of us.
It’s the love of our Tabby’s Place family that gets us through these trials and the pain of loss…plus every other wonderful cat that needs us and keeps us going (and all the new ones to come!).