Me: “Hey, wanna go out for dinner tonight?”
Wonderful Wife: “I really don’t feel well. I have a horrible headache and the lymph nodes in my neck are swollen.”
Me: (typing on my phone)
Me: “I looked up your symptoms. I’m afraid you only have a few hours to live.”
WW: (heads into kitchen)
Me: “What are you doing?”
WW: “Making pop tarts and chocolate Quik. If I’m dying, that’s how I want to go out.”
I’m not a cat person. I’m just not. So understand it’s not lightly that I say Baldur was my favorite cat ever. He was always hungry, perpetually cuddly, and loved everyone, even the dogs.
I’d never met a cat like him. He refused to run or hiss or react to the dogs. He stood his ground. Eventually, they stopped trying to chase him and just accepted him. He even ate with them and often curled up with them.
Every night we feed our cats a big scoop of dry food and then a can of wet food. Every night the other cats just stare disapprovingly at the dry food, waiting for the wet. Baldur was the only cat to immediately dive in and happily eat the dry food. He didnt wait, even though the wet food always came soon after. He just seemed genuinely grateful for any food, with no pretense.
I want to be like that. I want to calmly hold my ground in the face of giants. I want to love freely and without subtext. I want to always be grateful for the dry food. I think we’d all be happier if we loved more and spent less time waiting for the wet food.
Thank you, Baldur, for all the affection and companionship. I wish you nothing but endless ear scratches and happy hunting in that great mouse field in the sky.
May you ever curl up at Odin’s feet.
God speed, Baldur. God speed.
Parenthood is holding your sobbing children as you tell them their cat died, and having a big family cry pile on the couch, and being strong for them as you help them plan a memorial service.
Parenthood is listening to them crying themselves to sleep upstairs and not running up to comfort them because we’d all just get upset again.
Parenthood is knowing it’s better to tell them the truth up front even though it hurts, and letting them face this head on now because you know it will help them be better prepared for real life.
Parenthood sucks sometimes.
Very Vocal Viking 