The Circle of Life Rears its Ugly Head Yet Again

I lost a friend yesterday. My beloved cat, Shadow, went to the big scratching post in the sky....

We're still not quite sure what happened to him. He was a scrapper, that's for sure! He'd be gone for days at a time and come back with a ripped ear, patch of fur missing, etc. I'd patch him up and he'd stick around for awhile...until he was called on his next big adventure, that is. He was six years old and must have lived all nine of his lives to the fullest. If that cat could talk....

David called me while I was running errands last night with 2YO to tell me that he found Shadow dead. I was shopping, of all places, at WalMart at the time. I'm still not quite sure I've processed it all. He was my cat. He would find me every couple of days or so and just want to crawl up on my shoulder for some attention. He would meow like a pitiful kitten even though I had usually seen him with a dead squirrel or gopher in his mouth just hours before. He was even good with the kids. He seemed to know to restrain himself when dealing with a young child or baby. As the child grew older, his patience wore thinner.

With the exception of all the dead and dying creatures he brought in the house to share with us, he was the smartest cat I'd ever known.

Ironically, while still shopping in WalMart, I found myself looking for some cheese. Two women were standing next to me. One asked the other to borrow her cell phone. The other woman told her that she purposely left it at home so her family couldn't bother her while she shopped.

Myself and another lady on the other side of them giggle. We've all been there, right? I mean, my husband had just called me to tell me he'd found my cat dead, forcing me to finish the rest of my errands with knots in my stomach. Shopping without a phone could be a blessing, I think.

So, the lady on the other side that also giggles starts explaining why she has to have her cell phone with her.

"I need it in case something happens, and the clock is telling me that they're still seven minutes apart. I want to wait until they're four minutes apart to head to the hospital."

WHA-WHAAAAAT??????

Yup. This woman was in labor and shopping by herself to kill time. Myself and the other two women start bombarding the poor woman with questions:

"You mean you drove yourself?"

"Is this your first baby? How long were you in labor with your first one?"

"Do you feel okay? Because you really shouldn't be out shopping by yourself..."

"Does your husband know you're in labor?"

When asked about her husband, she chuckled and said she had to get away from him.

"He was getting on my nerves. Ooooh...I want popcorn."

And she walked away, cell phone still in hand.

I am very aware that cats and people aren't the same, but it sort of put me at ease to know that, while I lost a kitty, someone else was having a baby.

Life goes on, you know. And things will always change. We win, we lose. We do it again tomorrow.