A Happy & Sad Anniversary #CaturdayArt

Mommy here! 

It's impossible to believe, but today is our 15th blogoversary! It started out as a way to chronicle my reading life along with a little about my love of cats, but the kitties took over (as they're known to do!) Through Tara, Truffles and Mudpie, our online friends have laughed and cried with us, and created a community of cat lovers that we cherish more every day.

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Today is also the 35th anniversary of the day my childhood cat Patch passed away, my first experience grieving the loss of a beloved pet. He was my parents' "first child," as he came into their lives a year and a half before I was born. He was abandoned as a three month old kitten on my father's family dairy farm and my grandmother, knowing how much my Mom loved cats, asked if she'd like to take him home. At first she declined because she didn't want to go through the inevitable grief again, but Dad talked her into it. Prior to Patch my Mom had been over a decade without a cat in her life! He was my constant companion growing up, lying in one corner of my bed while a stack of books sat in the other. We lost him to a brain tumor at age 15.

I've experienced a lot of loss since that first heartbreak, just as anyone does who can't imagine life without cats, but no matter how many times you say goodbye it doesn't get any easier. In ways I think it gets harder.

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!

And now our weekly answers for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

1. The older I get, the more of a homebody I get.

2. I frequent HomeGoods and TJ Maxx (my favorite stores for Halloween and Christmas decor).

3. Back in my day, we got some of the first Apple desktops at school. I hated them and thought they were such a waste of time! Now we live on them...

4. I count down the days until it's over during these last few weeks of summer.