In rememberance of our old cat "Shady".
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I just came home from a rather joyful weekend with friends and newly met people and visited mother after being back. The face I had expected for some time now, not even milliseconds needed to know that Shady had gone. She was already buried in mother's little garden where all our past pets mortal remains are.
She came to us as a "refugee" (like all our past cats) fully grown in autumn 1989. That made her about 4-6 years at that time. So she died at an estimated age of about 28/29 years. Yes, really that old. (In human years that might be roughly 200.)
Her character changed from wild to mild within the time. Even having lived for a long time it is always again a rather hard experience for the remaining ones. And I kinda grew up with death. It leaves a hole in life of the ones who stay behind, like some part ripped out of them. But it is a little like my father's death, there is also a kind of relief that you don't have to worry anymore all the time. Especially when you know your loved ones to be in better hands now. But for the primeval part of us it is hard to deal with the ungrippable, the less material things.
Fare well good old cat.

Remember to hug your loved ones in time before you might regret later not having done so in time.

Still it seems a little strange, maybe even hypocritical to me that a lot of us enjoy to eat pork, beef, chicken or anything but we complain and cry about out cats and dogs and singing birds when they pass away. I never eat much meat, I am still aware that I eat an animal that was killed for my feeding needs or pleasure(?), but today it seemed extra-crazy to me.

The good news is that spring is awaking, if I had to name a favourite season it is spring.
In other news: workload is still high, salary really low. That means no vacation, no real traveling, no recreation. Life is good. (repeat this until you believe it)
I'll still try to get my share of awakening nature this year.