New Beginnings

I went into the garden a couple of days ago... and smiled when I saw this.

Normally, seeing my plants bloom or fruit makes me smile. These roses however, are extra special. As you might notice in the picture on the right, this is Fatty's rose bush.

When Fatty passed away, we couldn't decide what to do. I thought of cremation but it just didn't feel right. We thought we'd bury her below the magnolia tree in our front "garden" but the thought of one day moving and leaving her behind didn't feel right either. So, as freaky as this sounds, we decided to buy a pot to bury Fatty and an ornamental plant to go in it. That way, she'll always be with us.

I remember the day well. I'd taken the day off work to overcome the grief and Ant stayed home too. We went to Bunnings to look for a pot and a plant. We chose this particular hybrid rose "Candy Stripe" because it was bi-coloured, just like Fatty.

Anyway, the day was gloomy and grey and the rain kept coming and going. It was drizzling when we got the pot ready and during the brief relief from the showers, we buried Fatty and planted the rose plant (still young and budless) on top of her.

The rain got worse throughout the day and night. It felt really strange, knowing Fatty was out in the rain. As crazy as this sounds, even though I knew she no longer existed and would not feel any cold or pain, I felt guilty that she was out in the rain. It did make me thank god that Fatty did have us when she was alive - in the years that I've had her, there have been pretty bad storms, including the hail that damaged so many cars that car dealers had no choice but to sell them heavily discounted. I remember how Fatty hid under my bed that night - I'm glad she had somewhere to be nice and dry in.

The rest of the week was rainy and stormy. So it really drove that point home to me.

And then we got this photo from our foster carer, Michele. Someone had just dropped off her newest foster kitten.

When we visited her the next day, our hearts broke.

How could ANYONE abandon this adorable ball of fluff in the horrible weather we'd been having. And cut its whiskers to boot??

This poor ball of fluff was so thin that even her thick coat could not help her maintain any form of body heat. The heat bag was her best friend and it amazed me that she trusted me enough to fall asleep in my hands. 

Michele decided that we would have naming rights for her. Since she reminded us of the mogwai in Gremlins... we decided to name her Gizmo.

We visited her nearly every week, for months, taking a million and one photos of her... much to delight of our crazy cat people friends, who would always ask us if we were adopting her.

 

 

Well, deep down we knew she was ours but we (read: I) didn't want to commit to it yet. She was just so tiny and we were worried she wouldn't make it. Plus, I felt a little guilty about the fact that we were already considering another cat within a week of Fatty leaving us.

But then there were a few signs. Her socks. Her grumpy face. The little milk beard she had after devouring a saucer full of it. They reminded us of Fatty.

Those similarities and the fact she was found in the park during that rainy week, when I had been emphasizing how glad I was that Fatty never had to go through that with us. 

We just had to take her home.

4 months later, Gizmo Waddlebooty is finally home.



And guess where her favourite spot is?

A heated (but not plugged in) cat cave. Only she sits on top of it because it was flattened by Fatty. That's right, of all the little nests she could have picked, she decided on Fatty's favourite spot. And every day, whoever is first to get home, will find her curled up there.

So I think we made the right choice.

 

Don't you?