Somehow, I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four Cs. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.
Walt Disney

This is off the topic of projects and Walt Disney, but it's the topic on my mind. I can tangentially connect it to the Disney quote I've been looking at for a few days, so let the tangent begin.

My 17 year old cat died an hour or so ago.

Losing a cat that I've had that long made me wonder what lasts. So may pets and people come and go. Or maybe I come and go and the pets and people stay.

However it works, as I considered making Smokey's final vet appointment, I felt a little alone, losing a constant that's been in my life as so many other things changed.

A childhood friend from sleepaway camp read on facebook that my cat was failing and sent me a message of comfort. Something about the constant of a childhood friend DID feel comforting.

The phone rang this morning, and it was my friend Lorrie. I'd worked with Lorrie almost 20 years ago until she moved to Tenessee and I went back to grad school. She was on her way to NJ and she wanted to be sure to see me. A constant.

Lorrie and I don't often get a chance to talk with our busy lives and schedules, but we always find each other at just the right time, it seems. Once, we lost touch with each other for years, and we bumped into each other at Carribbean Beach Resort. I was staying there...she'd stopped by for five minutes to find a seasonal trading pin...I got to meet her kids for the first time as they sat in the car with their Dad, the engine still running. Then she drove back to Tennessee. Perfect timing... the kind of thing that has almost impossible odds!

The timing of some events makes you wonder....

I dreaded taking Smokey to the vet for that shot, but I was afraid she'd suffer tonight when the vet was not available.

I made the appointment for 7:15 so she could see her Daddy one more time. Her Daddy got there about 6:30, just when she was showing signs of discomfort.

Kitty and Daddy got to say their good-byes, then Smokey passed quietly and without pain in my arms at about 7:00. We got to the vet on time, and they confirmed that she was already gone. The timing was a blessing, and I am so thankful that she died at home like that.

When we got home from the vet, my high school friend called to make plans.

So, I sit here feeling blessed for a cat that was devoted and loving for 17 years, for the kind of perfect timing that connects old friends to show you that even when people are out of sight, they are not as far as you think. And, especially tonight, for the kind of timing that gives a beloved pet exactly what you know they'd want, which is to die peacefully at home in Mommy's arms.

Mainly, I am extremely sleep deprived after four or five days of round-the-clock cat nursing, and I hope this rambling blog entry is not to incoherent.