Then and back again

 Today is the 5th day of the 10th week, the 7th day of the 3rd month, the 67th day of 2024, and:

• Nametag Day
• National Be Heard Day
• National Cereal Day
• National Crown Roast of Pork Day
• National Flapjack Day
• National Hospitalist Day
• Plant Power Day
• Slam the Scam Day
• World Book Day
• and Voyager 1 is 22h 33m 39s of light travel time from Earth

Quote of the day:
"The future is an illusion, the past is now a dream, and the only reality we have access to is the present."
~  Mark Coleman, “Why Are We So Hard on Ourselves?”

Two years ago today:  the end of the #PandaWatch

Today:  #TriscuitTales

Triscuit arrived on March 31st two years ago - how did that happen?  After all, it took me seven months to finally take in Panda after Kula died!  I was quite bemused because it happened so fast.  Somehow it felt disrespectful to Panda, if that makes sense.  I mean, it hadn't even been a month!  

My granddaughters came to stay the weekend a week later.  Their mother told them that I was very upset and cautioned them against about talking about Panda -- a caution they repeated immediately to me, of course [we weren't even out of the driveway after I picked them up!].  I told them we could talk about Panda, as long as they understood it made Grandmom very sad.

So they wanted to know if I would get another cat, and I agreed I would, and then, how would I go about finding a rescue cat?  I pulled up Petfinder - which was how I had found Panda - and I showed them all the different listings of cats needing rescuing.  I was quickly fascinated with the care and deliberation they both showed in going through the different cats as they stood next to me.  One was seriously  considered because she looked so sad, especially when I read them her story - Baby was 14 and her owner had to give her up because her husband had died and where she had to move, cats were not welcome.  But when I pointed out cats only lived to be 15 or 16, they decided I wouldn't have enough time with her, the oldest saying thoughtfully that it was too upsetting to lose a pet that one was fond of.  Others were rejected because they didn't seem to be "only" cats, and two rejected because they were already in need of medication.  The girls really liked another cat, but Grandmom pointed out that she looked exactly like Panda.  Both girls considered that, and decided that wasn't a good idea because we weren't trying to replace Panda.   I could've stopped them, of course, but they were so serious and thoughtful with how they considered each cat, that I was totally fascinated.  In the end, they picked Triscuit - a tabby like Panda, but with different coloring, white and black rather than brown and caramel.   Their conclusion was that Triscuit needed a home and Grandmom needed a companion, so why wait?

I will admit I was astonished when told my application for Triscuit was accepted and the woman who was fostering her contacted me, and then astounded when all the paperwork and formalities went so smoothly.  And so, just three weeks after my poor little Panda left me, and I removed all traces of "cat" in the apartment?  I found myself re-buying litter and cat food as I had donated my stockpiles to a shelter, and preparing to welcome another furry companion.   The girls bought a cat bed and cat toys and gave them to me on my birthday just a week later.  

So Triscuit came home