Mimzi

 This past week our lovely cat passed away. She was born with a bladder disease, that after a year and a half of treatment and prayers, it seemed to only be getting worse.

She was in pain, and it seemed to be increasing. Our vet recommended that the best thing we could do for Mimzi would be to let her go. And it broke our hearts.

I bought Mimzi as Tim's Christmas present in 2012. She was just a baby who fit into our lives instantly. Within hours of being here she was cuddled up sleeping with our dog. She and Jovi were quickly best friends.

It was not long before we knew something was wrong with our otherwise perfect kitten. She was urinating outside of her box-on laundry, in bathtubs, towels, beds, any and everywhere was fair game.

Our vet did tests and told us she had crystals in her bladder and her ph balance was off. From what we have learned this felt like a bladder infection or kidney stones. It is very painful, and her out of the box urinating was her trying to find comfort and relief from pain.

They prescribed a new food. It was expensive, but we bought it. It did not help. We tried an over the counter version. It did not help, but we kept buying it. Things were getting worse. We took her back to the vet and nothing had changed with her bladder. She was still in pain.

We tried everything we could in the following week. We only gave her wet food, and I snuck watermelons into her food to get more moisture into her body. We bought her expensive litter that would be softer. It worked for a while. We were elated. But suddenly it did not work. She was still in pain and was finding new places to eliminate.

Last Wednesday we said our goodbyes. I help her so she could see out the window, perhaps the thing she loved most to do. I watched the life drain out of her eyes. I was the last thing she saw, and Tim's voice the last she heard on this earth.

Our hearts are broken and our home empty. After a year and a half of having her we look for her out of habit, where our hearts know she should be-even though our minds know better.

My Married Life

I was so busy with school and work and life things that I did not have time to think much what life would be like once we were officially married. The thing is-it is not that different, at least not yet. I mean, other than living together and such. But I knew that was coming.

I did develop a fear of loosing my space-my sanctuary before the wedding. I could not imagine another person in my house. Adjusting to the new cat was difficult enough. But the big problem with the cat was that she peed on everything all the time. Now that she has stopped doing that we get along much better. So far my husband has yet to pee on my things. It turns out I have some shockingly low standards-if you don't pee on my things I can apparently adjust to living with you pretty well.

My space is different now though. Laundry needs done more often, I have to share the sink in the bathroom sometimes, the dishwasher isn't loaded in the most space saving way, and their are opinions that are not mine. But, while I don't love all of those things, I do not hate any of those things. In fact, most of the changes that have occurred in my house are great. Someone else helps take care of the cat and the dog, someone else helps with the dishes, makes the bed, does the laundry, makes ice, cleans, and is just making sure things get done.

Yesterday we did what we consider our first big married project. We cleaned the garage and the inside of the car. Together we hauled everything out of the garage, swept the floor and hosed it down, we also hosed down all of the stuff we had in the garage-even that garbage cans. It was a big project that we accomplished together. We felt very married. And I love clean things so that made it even better.