Waxing Philosophical (again)

My son is waltzing to the beat of Mississippi. Ever try to spell it out loud? It's very rhythmic. Think of the M as a starting And beat. And 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3-1.

We may have some rough days ahead of us. I'll apologize now if I fall behind on my blogs. Apparently, we have another sick kitty. I think there is some reason why this keeps happening. Either I'm really bad at picking shelter cats or I'm just drawn to the ones who are destined to have a short life. Over the past few years, we've lost 4 cats--2 simply to complications due to old age, 1 to sudden illness, and 1 (our favorite) to Feline Infectious Peritonitis. That's a long word that simply means "fatal."
This time it's Guru that's been stricken. Marina's cat. The two others who died of sickness were also hers. I took him in to the vet yesterday after worrying about him for over a week. It looks like FIP might rear its ugly head again, that's inconclusive right now, but the main problem this time is an enlarged heart and a murmur.
I almost don't want to talk about this with family and friends. We're starting to look like tragic pet owners, always succumbing to these cute fuzzy faces and then being left broken-hearted. But for all of our suffering through feline illnesses, I feel so blessed to have had these critters in our life. Each has had its own personality, likes and dislikes, tiny souls who win our hearts in spite of all the pawprints, knocked over plants and scratches. If you've ever loved a pet, you probably know what I mean. I think there is a lesson to be learned in all of this. I spent a lot of time praying and meditating over this through the deaths of the last two cats, especially Thor. I wrote extensively about Thor. I read about other pet lovers and their experiences. The one thing I have learned is that opening our hearts to love involves baring them to the pain of loss. That's why it's important to appreciate each moment we are given, each opportunity we have to love another soul, even the furry (feathery and scaly) ones. Love is the soul's adventure. Like the climbers of Everest, we do it because it's there, and even though I may return bruised and battered, I hope to always be ready to scale the next mountain.