Competitors for the worst of 2023: the tornado, Thanksgiving, and Tovah dying
I actually tried to participate in some holiday-type things this year, with mixed results. I went to my city's giant menorah lighting, although it was hard to enjoy it because some really loud, ugly, rude pro-Hamas protestors showed up. I can understand caring about civilians in Gaza, but I think it was too obvious that what these people wanted was for Jews to crawl into the woodwork and hide. (Which won't happen. There was a really heavy police presence.) I made sure to eat a good amount of latkes, because nothing gets between me and latkes!
A local theater was showing Christmas movies, and Sara and I saw Meet Me in St. Louis on the big screen! We've always loved that movie. And I don't think I've ever heard a movie audience cry as hard as that one did when Tootie ran outside and destroyed her snowmen. I also attended my temple's congregational latke dinner, which I think was the first time since pre-Covid! I got to see the sweet litter of foster kittens that we surrendered to the shelter in November. Three of them have now been adopted, and one of them is still there.
My job's annual holiday dinner was at an event space that had all kinds of food and activities. There were pool tables, arcade games, a bowling alley, and much more! Our room had a make-your-own-taco bar, and it was amazing. I ate and ate until our time ran out and they kicked us out of the room. I didn't really do any of the games besides playing some pool with my much-better-at-it coworker J. It was a loud place, and I have a low tolerance for loud noises. It was nice to come home to a quiet house of cats and read Emma (I've been finishing the year with Jane Austen books lately).
For Christmas, I got Sara the 2012 Oscars issue of People magazine, two Baby-Sitters Club books that she didn't have, a pack of Carmex, and a squeezy-thing, and she got me a copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, some peppermint bark, and a bag of Smarties (not my favorite candy but I still ate the whole bag) for Hanukkah. Mom sent us some cash, socks, a digital tire guage, and magnetic bookmarks (which I probably won't even use because I still have the bookmark I got way back here in Chicago!). For Christmas, we made rice dressing, stuffing, and green bean casserole, and for New Year's, we made our favorite cheese dip and brownies. We watched Home Alone and A Muppet Christmas Carol for Christmas, but we didn't watch Speed on New Year's Eve like we usually do. But after how stressful and expensive Thanksgiving was this year, it was good to not go anywhere or see anyone.
Tovah passed away 12/28. She'd really slowed down since Thanksgiving, and for the last few days, it was obvious that she didn't have much time left. She didn't even protest when we started bringing stray cat Nerak inside, and ordinarily, she would've pitched a fit over having another cat (especially another female tortoiseshell) in her space. She gave me the worst scare on Christmas morning. She got out of our backyard, which she had never done before, and I spent a long, frantic time searching for her before finally finding her in the front yard of a neighbor who has some big dogs. I think she was trying to find a place to go off and die alone, like most animals do. She tried making a break for it a few other times, too, but that was the furthest she ever got. After Christmas, I expected her to die almost every day. On 12/27, she quit eating and drinking. I watched her closely all that evening. Her breath got shallow, her extremities got cold, and she finally died around one in the morning. She died on my bed, lying on the heating pad that she always loved. We should all be so lucky.
Sara and I stayed home from work the next day to bury her in the backyard. I dug a hole and wrapped her up in my old shelter volunteer shirt. I read the poem "Friend," by Gwendolyn Brooks, and Sara played "Heart of Gold," by Neil Young (which I really love). We'd had Tovah for 11.5 years (ever since way back here), and she was already old when we got her. I'm really going to miss her. No cat can ever replace her, but we have been letting Nerak inside more since she passed.
A local theater was showing Christmas movies, and Sara and I saw Meet Me in St. Louis on the big screen! We've always loved that movie. And I don't think I've ever heard a movie audience cry as hard as that one did when Tootie ran outside and destroyed her snowmen. I also attended my temple's congregational latke dinner, which I think was the first time since pre-Covid! I got to see the sweet litter of foster kittens that we surrendered to the shelter in November. Three of them have now been adopted, and one of them is still there.
My job's annual holiday dinner was at an event space that had all kinds of food and activities. There were pool tables, arcade games, a bowling alley, and much more! Our room had a make-your-own-taco bar, and it was amazing. I ate and ate until our time ran out and they kicked us out of the room. I didn't really do any of the games besides playing some pool with my much-better-at-it coworker J. It was a loud place, and I have a low tolerance for loud noises. It was nice to come home to a quiet house of cats and read Emma (I've been finishing the year with Jane Austen books lately).
For Christmas, I got Sara the 2012 Oscars issue of People magazine, two Baby-Sitters Club books that she didn't have, a pack of Carmex, and a squeezy-thing, and she got me a copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, some peppermint bark, and a bag of Smarties (not my favorite candy but I still ate the whole bag) for Hanukkah. Mom sent us some cash, socks, a digital tire guage, and magnetic bookmarks (which I probably won't even use because I still have the bookmark I got way back here in Chicago!). For Christmas, we made rice dressing, stuffing, and green bean casserole, and for New Year's, we made our favorite cheese dip and brownies. We watched Home Alone and A Muppet Christmas Carol for Christmas, but we didn't watch Speed on New Year's Eve like we usually do. But after how stressful and expensive Thanksgiving was this year, it was good to not go anywhere or see anyone.
Tovah passed away 12/28. She'd really slowed down since Thanksgiving, and for the last few days, it was obvious that she didn't have much time left. She didn't even protest when we started bringing stray cat Nerak inside, and ordinarily, she would've pitched a fit over having another cat (especially another female tortoiseshell) in her space. She gave me the worst scare on Christmas morning. She got out of our backyard, which she had never done before, and I spent a long, frantic time searching for her before finally finding her in the front yard of a neighbor who has some big dogs. I think she was trying to find a place to go off and die alone, like most animals do. She tried making a break for it a few other times, too, but that was the furthest she ever got. After Christmas, I expected her to die almost every day. On 12/27, she quit eating and drinking. I watched her closely all that evening. Her breath got shallow, her extremities got cold, and she finally died around one in the morning. She died on my bed, lying on the heating pad that she always loved. We should all be so lucky.
Sara and I stayed home from work the next day to bury her in the backyard. I dug a hole and wrapped her up in my old shelter volunteer shirt. I read the poem "Friend," by Gwendolyn Brooks, and Sara played "Heart of Gold," by Neil Young (which I really love). We'd had Tovah for 11.5 years (ever since way back here), and she was already old when we got her. I'm really going to miss her. No cat can ever replace her, but we have been letting Nerak inside more since she passed.