Cleo

4 years ago we moved into this house. About a month after that, Lance went on a "surf trip" with some of his buddies from high school/ college.

If there is one thing I could change about Lance, it would be that his parents did not send him to expensive schools where he met and befriended people whose reality is completely different from ours. That is to say, who are independently wealthy and have never had to work. As a result of hanging out with people like this in his youth, Lance sometimes gets an attitude that his life really sucks because he has to earn a living.

But this is not about Lance.

Four years ago, he went on a "surf trip" to Indonesia with some of these people. Every summer they spend over 5 grand to go to Indonesia and live on a yacht with a chef and surf guide, where they chase the best waves, and then come home and talk about it ad naseum. And basically make anyone who hasn't gone on the trip feel lame--not just because you are missing out on something great, but also because you are somehow so much less cultured than they are. YUCK.

Hmm, but this is not supposed to be a bitch session*. Or about Lance. To continue. . .

Lance went on the trip, which meant he was incommunicado for 3 weeks. There is no cell service on the boat, nor is there a land-line (obviously). Before he left, we had begun trying to conceive Isaac. Neither one of us expected that I would get pregnant on the first try, but a week or so after he left, I discovered I was pregnant. I was terrified! And excited! And had no one to talk about it with! I told my girlfriends at work. I told my parents. I called all over town to find an OB that was taking new patients.

That weekend I had a miscarriage. Fortunately (?) I was so early, the miscarriage was not very painful, just like a heavy period. I didn't need a D&C, I didn't even need pain pills. Still, it was a difficult time, especially since I could not reach Lance.

The Tuesday after the miscarriage I returned to work. Everyone there was very sweet to me, and I started feeling just a little bit better. At one point in the afternoon, Lisa asked me: "Do you feel really lonely at home?" I nodded and cried a little. "What if you had a pet?" she asked. She went on to explain that she had found a stray cat recently that no one had claimed. Lisa didn't want to keep her, because she already had 3 cats.

That is how Cleo came to live with us, and that is what this post is supposed to be about. She was a sweet and loving cat, and happily sat in my lap the last week or so until Lance came home, helping me heal.




Cleo is a very small cat, less than 10 lbs. She is around 13 years old. She has long grey hair which she grooms meticulously. She is not playful, preferring to sleep or sit on the porch and watch the cars drive by. However, she LOVES to be petted. She will happily jump on a newcomer's lap, just itching for a stroke of her head.

She also has very bad teeth, which makes it hard for her to eat dry food. As a result, one often has to feed her wet food up to four times a day. When she is hungry, she makes sure everyone knows about it, by meowing at the top of her lungs until you feed her. She also meows at the top of her lungs every morning around 6am, because she wants to be let out. She sheds a LOT. She gets hairballs and vomits frequently. She has been known to pee on the carpet if we leave town for an extended period.

Ever since the children were born, Cleo has taken a back seat. I don't have time to brush her as often as she needs it, which has resulted in more hairballs and more vomiting. On the mornings when the children sleep past 6am, it is really annoying to have to wake up anyway, just to let her out. After taking care of Vivian and Isaac's needs all day, I don't really want to pet her. I don't even want Lance to touch me some days, so Cleo's needs really get pushed aside.

Yesterday, Lance and I found Cleo a new home. She is going to live with Candy and her husband, who love animals and have no kids. Candy just moved here and misses her family, and needs someone to keep her company. Cleo is the perfect cat for that.

I miss her already. And I'm not sure what I'll say when Isaac asks about her. (Both children ADORE Cleo, though she really had no time for either one of them). I hope she likes her new place.


*I'm afraid that the reason my last few posts have been so bitchy and negative is my anxiety/terror over the elephant in the room, i.e., Isaac's surgery on Monday.