Year
2018 Tributes
Calypso (A.K.A. Mom), 7/15/2003 - 10/22/2018 
To Calypso (A.K.A Moo-Moo Kitty because you
looked like a cow, Moodini because you hid and we could not find
you, and Mom just because it suited you and the many nicknames
just morphed into that).
“I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah).
I wanted to compose a poem; but my heart is just to broken, and
I am at a loss for those kinds of words. “I am worn out
from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and
drench my couch with tears.” (Psalm 6:6).
Instead, Mom, I have chosen to tell your story: I had just
lost a very young kitty to leukemia. I seem to get the
sick ones. I know why, but it sure hurts. From
previous losses, I knew that this time waiting for another cat
would not work. Within the week, I went to the shelter to
see who was available. From outside, I could see a young
“Cow Cat” in a windowsill with a screen in it. I went over
to say hello, and you kept jumping up, rolling off the sill, and
jumping up again and falling off. You were sneezing,
sneezing through the screen and baptizing me with kitty nose
juice. I knew you had to be mine. Inquiring inside,
I found out that you were actually in quarantine with an
illness; and I would have to wait to come get you on another
day. I called until they said I could finally come.
You were in a kitty cage in the lobby when I showed up and
jumped down immediately to greet me. So. it began.
Fourteen plus years of loving companionship I will always
cherish.
Those years were not without problems: You were kind of
“rough and tumble.” Always at the place you hated the most
– the vet. Poked in the eye with your toy, hung by a claw
from a porch miniblind chasing a fly, chin acne from plastic
kitty dishes, the Whiskas scare, crystals from not drinking
enough, hair mats along your back from a massage tool (scary,
looked like furry dinosaur scales; was terrified you had gotten
multiple sarcomas; luckily, a quick shave at the vet fixed
that. The worst was your hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy. You had nasty meds, which were worse than
the disease. Had to take you off them. Off the meds,
you actually did well and lived many more years. I am so
very grateful for that. Then there was IBS, probably from
all the previous antibiotics. I really tried, Mom. I
was always scared that each incident was “the time.” But
you surprised me. Fifteen is still young in my book,
having had cats live to be over 18 and 19; but considering the
heart disease, we did okay. I hope you think so too.
But the wonderful things I remember the most are: Your
colors made you look like a telemarketer with a black spot on
your head and a stripe going down your face under your
chin. You sure sold me on yourself. Your
multicolor paw pads were exactly opposite from each paw left to
right. When you sat upright, there was a black marking of
another cat hugging you. From the back, it looked like you
were wearing pantaloons. You had the softest and silkiest
fur of any cat I owned. You smelled of new-mown hay on a
warm summer day. The most wonderful smell I could imagine
falling asleep to at night. You loved to go on the porch
and lay in the sun. You liked to play but got lazy later
on in life and would just wait for the toy to come to you, other
than catching flies of course. You never liked to be
brushed until just the right brush was stumbled upon by my
sister-in-law (Fran). Then I just had to say “brushy” or
simply show you “brushy,” and you be on the bed for some mommy
time. You would not sit in my lap because I think you did
not know how. You would just stand there not knowing what
to do. I think that was because you were almost a year old
when I got you. You were kind of a cat’s cat. Not
much of a “touch-me” girl for a number of years; but things
gradually changed after “brushy,” especially after I quit
working. In these last nine months, you seemed to want to
be in visual site of me when not sleeping – your favorite
pastime. You always got over stimulated and bit me.
That actually became quite endearing. Your cardboard
scratching post beds were your favorite and were
everywhere. Let’s not forget catnip sockies and laser
lights. Standing up in the box to do you know what.
I could go on.
Photos: Mom, I have more pictures than you can
imagine. I have your ultrasound when you got diagnosed
with heart disease. Some day I will be able to look at
them – just not now.
How many beds can one cat have? I think you had about
seven to nine. It was definitely a case of “kitty owning
everything.” That makes it very hard now; so much is
missing. I definitely had “catification” going on,
especially when you claimed the china cabinet cubby as your
own. Sooo cute.
Thank you, Mom, for being there through the tough times.
The last few years have not been fun at all, and you and God
have gotten me through them. There was a lot of noise from
the upstairs apartment; and I had two more job changes not of my
choosing, having to work most holidays. After not being
allowed to take Christmas off last year, which would have been
our final Christmas together, I decided to quit the job and just
be with you until you passed. You were getting up there in
years, and I did not know how much longer we had. I am so
fortunate to have been able to do so and so fortunate to spend
the last nine months with you. Thank you, God, for the
foresight and courage to make that choice. I am truly
sorry we did not get to do that “day in sun” I always wanted to
do.
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit (John Denver)
Thank you, Lord, for my having a loving friend visiting at the
time to take her to the vet with me that day and be with me and
her to the end. Thank you for the books she gave me to
take my mind off of things for a while. Thank you for
taking kitty when I could get to the vet. Winter is
coming, and to be stuck in the house with no way to get to the
vet due to a blizzard with her being in pain would surely have
been torture. I do recognize those Godly fortuitous
events. Your timing, Lord, is always perfect.
Fourteen years passed so quickly. I am no spring chicken,
so I hope the next years pass as quickly for me so I can be with
you and my other fur babies again soon. I hope you are
with them and possibly even with Ann. She loved her cats
as much as me and would understand. If at all possible and
if okay with God, Mom, please come get me.
“I'll find you in the morning sun and when the night is new I'll
be looking at the moon but I'll be seeing you” (Billie Holiday).
Goodbye my love, my Mom.
I am putting in the following versus to remind me that I have a
loving, great, and sovereign Lord who is there to help me and
others get through this grief. If anyone reads this, may
you also be comforted and blessed by them:
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all
my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in
your book. Psalm 56:8 (NLT)
There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across
the heavens to help you,
across the skies in majestic splendor. Deuteronomy 33:26
(NLT)
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will
wipe away every tear from their eyes. Rev 7:17 (NIV)
……. God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will
laugh. Luke 6:21 (NLT)
I will lift up my eyes to the hills- from whence comes my
help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and
earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who
keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall
not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord
shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your
soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your
coming in from this time forth and even forevermore. Psalm
121 (NKJV)
Sweet Casper became an angel at 2:34pm p.s.t. on
Saturday, June 2, 2018. Baby Casper was rescued by Kelly and her
college roommate at the end of June in 1998 when he was only 4
weeks old. Casper chose Kelly from the very beginning. After
nearly 20 years together, he gets credit for helping shape who
Kelly is today. Casper was her companion since her age of only
21 years old. Casper was there when Kelly got her undergraduate
degree and graduate degree, when Kelly moved across America to
be with Maria in 2003, and when we bought a house, got married,
and just endless memories of play time and snuggle time.
Such an empty feeling without the little buddy and/or monster as
we often called him, our Casper. His nicknames ranged from Mr.
Paws (he was polydactyl), Pest, Buddy, Monster, Master Casper
the Wonder Cat. He took over our lives for so long that now the
house feels so empty without him. Just like a person when you
lose them, you can't find anything that helps to make it better
for quite some time. And even years later in those special
people and pets, the loss remains.
Casper knew how to terrorize anything one held important to get
to you and make his presence very important in your life. One
could not ignore him; he wouldn't let you. He would make you pay
for days when you left him for vacation: howling for Kelly, and
running to her when she called for him, and keeping us awake for
days. Later we figured out if someone stayed overnights with
him, it helped some. When Maria worked at the computer he would
meow a lot and walk around her until one day she figured out
that he wanted his own chair next to her so that he could reach
out his paw and touch her leg while she worked. Other times he
just wanted to walk all over her lap and on top of the laptop
and step on the keyboard and mess with her writings. Casper did
the same to the TV remote and changed the TV channel on some
program Maria often had paused for a long time. Or, the best is
when he would adjust the bed by stepping on the bed remote! So
many stories about him and his unique personality, intelligence,
and social needs. Oh, and when we had to put him on a diet – he
had an automatic feeder and he figured out how to steal food by
putting his paw up the spout. Poor thing didn't realize he was
stealing from his next meal!
In life and in his illness, we discovered so much about him and
we learned to communicate with each other without words. Casper
had very special goodbyes with his pet sitter, both of his vets,
and Kelly and Maria. He passed away laying on Kelly’s chest
where he could hear her heartbeat, see Maria's face, and feel
Kelly’s arms holding him. We will miss him terribly. We will
love you always, our sweet baby cat! We miss you Casper and
there are not enough words to honor the love you created during
your 20 years on this earth!
Love you always, from mommy Kelly and mommy Maria
My precious little girl. How can I describe the
pain I feel when I can hardly hold back the tears. You
were such a loyal angel that went through so much with me.
It was so hard to let you go, but I knew you were tired and were
only holding on because I did not want to let you go. You
are now at the Rainbow Bridge with Hershey and you have been
restored my love. Mommy and Daddy will see you one day
soon. Wait patiently my love... and run like the wind.
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