ANOTHER JOURNEY NEARLY COMPLETED

Foster kittens are 8 weeks old and climbing all over the place. They now try to sneak out the door of their room when I go inside it. Simon had his head in the doorway yesterday and I had to open it wider to make sure he didn't get caught in it. He suddenly found  himself nose to nose with Baxter, one of the resident adult cats. I was surprised there was no hissing. I simply scooped up Simon and cuddled him as I opened the door and went inside his room. Baxter wasn't the least bit ruffled by meeting the kitten and I suppose the two would have been fine together, but if not, I would have had a hard time gathering Simon since there are lots of hiding spots out there. As it was, all was calm and peaceful and I wanted to keep it that way.

 

All three kittens and the mama cat are just beautiful but that Simon (gray and white) is something else. He's the most adventurous and is always ready to have his picture taken. Sofie is rarely happy to have hers taken, and Dustin, well he tolerates it but usually scampers off as soon as the photo has been snapped. Each has his or her endearing qualities and all are ready for adoption. We have some "forever home" possibilities, but people haven't yet been willing to commit to adopting the kittens. Misty has a forever home lined up though, and for that I'm very grateful. She's a very sweet cat and will be a good companion. 

 CHOW TIME, YUM!

 DUSTIN GETTING READY TO ATTACK MY HAND

 SIMON CAUGHT IN HEADLIGHTS

 SIMON FOUND THE CAMERA STRAP 

 PLAYING CUTE KITTY

 DUSTIN'S SERIOUS LOOK  

 MISTY HAS LOST CONTROL OF THE KITS

 SWEET SOFIE GIVES HER BROTHERS A HARD TIME 

 SIMON AND SOFIE LOVE TO BE TOGETHER 

 Look at that sweet face. How could you say "no" to him?

FAMILY TIES

It's a new day...a beautiful day...and my family and I are ready to move on after saying goodbye to our Mom, Aunt, and Grandma, Christina Schultz, yesterday. It was a very nice service and we laid her to rest beside Dad at Obetz Cemetery, in a the small town of Obetz, close to Groveport, Ohio. Dad grew up in Groveport and attended the church in the photo. He took our family there one Christmas Eve and relived his memories of participating in pageants when he was a child. Eventually, he met our mother and they were married in that church. Dad's mother, father, infant brother, and other relatives lie at rest in the same cemetery.

 

Yesterday was a day of love, hugs, and support from family and friends. Our hearts were filled with love for family and gratefulness for old and new friends and neighbors from the street where we were raised.  They made a sad difficult day easier to bear. We vowed to plan some family reunions in the very near future and we're going to follow through this time. My neighbors and friends from here also sent lovely gifts and extended heartfelt condolences. My good friend and neighbor, Brien, brought over a set of angel wind chimes and a memory slate the neighbors had chosen. Thank you my dear friends and neighbors, my family and extended family, and all who have offered hugs, prayers, and positive thoughts as we traveled this road. Mom is no longer in pain and we are at peace.

 OBETZ CHURCH, OBETZ, OHIO

 OBETZ CEMETERY

OBETZ CEMETERY AND CHURCH

 MEMORY KEEPSAKE ON TABLE IN PARLOR

 MEMORIES

 WIND CHIMES

ON A BRIGHTER NOTE....

Amidst all the stress and sadness this week, there were some bright spots. The foster kittens are now 7 weeks old and getting cuter and more active by the day. They run, jump, and chase each other all over their room while Misty sits and watches. She has just about weaned them and I've actually not seen them nursing for at least two weeks. They are little chow hounds and heartily eat their kitten chow, but they do use up a lot of energy. They love jingle balls and knock them all over the floor. The bigger cats in the next room sit atop the tote in which I keep their food and look through the door to watch the kittens play. They seem facinated by the little ones though I'm sure they have no recollection of ever being that small. 

 

This will probably be my last week with Misty and the kittens, though I'm not sure how this is all going to work. I'm a bit concerned that the plan for getting them back to Columbus for adoption won't play out...but at the same time, I'm concerned that it will. I was determined to not fall in love with these babies and their mama, but how could anybody look at those little faces and not love them?

Things will work out as they're supposed to and I'll savor the week I have left with my little guests.

THE LAST MILE OF THE JOURNEY

Mom passed very quietly and peacefully at 3:10 pm this afternoon, with my sister, Linda, on one side of her and I on the other. Family members had come to visit and say their goodbyes and some had left. My daughter, Jennifer, was there as well and she was a great support. There was a lot of noise in the room caused by machines for oxygen and the air mattress on which she rested. My daughter left the room for a few minutes to allow Linda and I time alone with Mom. During that time I asked that the machines be turned off. They were not life supportive. Mom was breathing on her own during this whole ordeal. It was so good to have all that noise stopped. I had taken a CD player and music along today, so as things in the room became quieter, I asked the Hospice nurse if she'd put on a CD of soft music. I had, on the spur of the moment, grabbed a CD by Michael Card as I left the house today, and I'd previously added a note inside the CD cover that listed #11, "I Will Bring You Home", as a song I really liked. While that song played, Linda and I talked to Mom and told her it was time for her to let go and that all of us would be just fine. Her breathing became more and more shallow, and exactly as the song ended, she let go and breathed her last. It was one of the most peaceful things I'd ever experienced. The Hospice nurse said she'd been present when many people had ceased breathing but had never observed anything quite like that. I don't know how I knew to have the noise stopped, how I knew which CD to take along, or how I'd been so sure she was going to leave us this day, but I just knew. Thank you all my family and friends for your caring words of support and encouragement. They were (and are) greatly appreciated.

MOM AND DAD IN 1945

JOURNEY

This past year with my mom has been a bumpy ride. At my request, my sister from the Columbus area brought her down here (near Dayton, Ohio) in March of 2012 to be a resident in the Lamplight Inn assisted living facility. Mom had suffered a fall in her home in February and we think either she had a stroke and fell....or fell then had the stroke. Either way, the experience left her mentally and physically impaired and we knew she needed assistance. We'd known it for awhile, but she wanted to stay in her home for as long as possible, and she was able to do that.  

 

While at Lamplight, Mom endured months of physical therapy and weekly visits to the wound specialists at Sycamore Hospital, along with many other hurdles - upper respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, a few none-injury falls, and a rapid slide into Alzheimer's. She had finally gotten to the place she could call Lamplight her home, but then the unthinkable happened. She fell nearly two weeks ago and broke her upper arm and her pelvis. At the age of 89, she would have had a very long and painful road back to mobility of any sort. Sadly, her body just couldn't take the trauma and she is slipping away from us. She lies in a hospital bed at Lamplight as I type. We had to remove her new "big bed" as she called it, to make room for the hi-lo bed. How she loved that new bed. I'm happy she was able to enjoy that, and her new recliner, for a time, however short.

 

At first, we thought she might recover, since she's bounced back from things nearly as serious, but she's older now and more frail so we'll have to face reality and try to be satisfied that she had a long life, surrounded by people she loved. She's no longer eating nor taking in fluids and cannot respond verbally at this point. There is evidence of kidney shutdown and her breathing has slowed to about 8 or 9 per minute. So now it's a waiting game. Family is gathering in her room and Hospice nurses attend her around the clock. Today we're going to play music for her and wish her a spendid journey. The best scenario at this juncture would be to have her pass peacefully while all of us are with her.   

          

 

 

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES

 

 KITTENS ARE NO LONGER CONTENT TO STAY IN A BASKET 

 WHOA THERE DUSTIN...YOU'RE EATING THE BOWL!

THOUGHT I'D SHARE A PHOTO OF ELLIOT AND TIMMY

SHARING A BED BY THE WINDOW

 

Misty and her three rambunctous younguns' continue to thrive. At the tender age of 6 weeks, Dustin, Simon, and Sofie are climbing, jumping, and running all over the place.  They discovered the cat condo and today I watched them all climb up the condo and into the window sill. Misty lies in the floor and plays with them and they love jumping on her and grabbing her tail. She seems like a very patient mama cat and I'm reasonably sure she's weaning them on her own. That's preferable to separating the little family. I always foster kittens for at least 8 weeks before offering them for adoption since it gives them more time to become socialized and a better chance to naturally make the transition from mama's milk to kitten chow. It's been quite awhile since I've even seen Misty nursing the kittens so that's a good sign, though I miss watching them nurse then fall asleep, safe and secure, within the protective paws of their mama.

 

I wish everything else had gone well this week. On Monday, my mother fell in the assisted living facility (the 5th fall in three weeks), broke her right upper arm, and fractured her pelvis in two places. She was sent to the hospital by ambulance and I received a call at 7:30pm to meet her there. What a night that was. She was screaming in pain and didn't know where she was or what had happened. After numerous attempts to relieve her pain, the emergency room doctors and nurses finally found the level of pain medication adequate to give her some peace. She was admitted to the hospital and remained there for 48 hours. In that time, I met with the Trauma Team, the hospital Wound Specialist, and several Hospice representatives. It was a mutual agreement that she not undergo surgery, but rather wear an arm sling and observe bedrest until she was able to begin some form of physical therapy. She is back in her room at Lamplight Inn now and remains mostly incoherent, which could be due to the advancement of Alzheimer's, the effects of pain medication, another stroke, or all three.

 

I can't say I was shocked to hear she'd fallen again. My sisters and I knew it was just a matter of time before she broke some bones. The staff at Lamplight has always stressed that Mom needed to use her walker, but Mom, being the strongwilled person she is, never wanted to use it and would walk away from it at every opportunity. On Monday evening, she finished supper in the diningroom and left the table without her walker, though her nurse had placed it beside her chair and reminded her to use it. My dear mother walked around the walker and toddled into the hallway where she fell as shocked residents watched helplessly. I suppose it's a blessing that Mom has no memory of falling but it's frustrating to know I can't even say, "See what happens when you don't use your walker?" That would serve no useful purpose since she's totally unaware she did this to herself. She's bed bound now and as much as I want to be hopeful, every time I visit her I come away convinced this is not going to end well.  My worst fear has been realized and my mother seems to be in a downward spiral that I can't stop. I've been told I have a "fixer" personality, but I surely can't fix this.             

FIVE WEEKS AND COUNTING

The kittens are growing fast and learning new things every day. Dustin, Simon, and Sofie are active little balls of fur and it's difficult to take clear photos of them because they're almost always on the move. They are five weeks old today and I'm trying to ignore the fact they won't be mine for much longer. They're adept at using the litter box and once in awhile I find all three in it at the same time. They join their mama, Misty, at the kitten chow bowl daily and they nurse less often now, which is natural and another step toward being ready for adoption.

 

All three kittens seem more secure when held, though they don't like to stay still for long. I love watching them jump, play, and chase each other. Misty is a very patient and tolerant mother. Last night she was playing with Simon as he lay on his back pawing at her face. I don't expect everyone to understand why I love kittens so much. I'm not sure I understand it myself. I wish there weren't so many in need of homes, but with a little luck and patience, these three will find their forever families in a few weeks.

 MAMA MISTY

 MISTY AND DUSTIN

 SIMON THE FEARLESS

SWEET SOFIE

 

WHO LET THE CATS OUT?

Misty's kittens are four weeks old today and my how they've grown. They are too big now to be contained. They can get out of the wooden toybox and they climb in and out of the wicker basket at will. Each climbs upon the couch with ease. Climbing up there is apparently easier than getting down, but they manage pretty well. Misty chortles to them a lot but they pay little attention unless it's dinner time. All of them have tried solid food, lap water from the big bowl, and use the litter box. I still find that amazing but it's crucial for grooming them to be household pets. I can't believe my time with them is going so quickly.

 

Watching kitten antics has become entertainment for the other cats. Yesterday Sofie tried to scoot out the door as I opened it to enter her room and Baxter was right there at the opening. When Sofie stuck her paw out and touched his nose, Baxter must have thought he was being attacked. He recoiled, then turned and ran to the other side of the room. I wonder if Sofie has any idea how much power she wields over the big cats?

 

Misty seems to be much calmer about the cats watching her kittens as they play. Most of the time she lies on the floor watching them herself. She hasn't made any further gestures toward the big guys. I'm hesitant to allow the other cats to be in the same room with the kittens so they'll just have to continue watching them from the other side of the door.       

 FOLLOW THE LEADER

 WHAT A SWEET FACE

CAN'T FENCE ME IN

 WHAT'S MY BROTHER DOING UP THERE?

 PICTURE OF CONTENTMENT

READY TO RUMBLE

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

The kittens are now three weeks old and it has taken all this time to decide on names for the mama cat and her family. I think part of the problem was that I didn't want to become attached to them - but it's way too late for that. Mama cat is now known as Misty. I've actually been asking her if that name is pleasing to her and she's not told me differently. She just looks like a Misty to me. Her little female black kitten is Sofie, the gray and white male is Simon, and the solid gray male is Dustin (named in honor of one of my most cherished and now departed furry companions).

 

The kittens are trying their best to climb out of their toybox so they'll soon be allowed explore their room. They have sharp little teeth now so I'll start them on solid food this weekend and hope they will continue to thrive.

It's rewarding to watch kittens grow and learn, but the faster they grow, the closer they get to becoming someone else's kittens. That's the down side of fostering animals. They're mine for such a short time.   

GROWING BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS

So far, mama cat and kittens still have no names. That's unusual around here since we name everything we rescue. By the next post I'll have names for the members of this little family. Mama cat continues to be attentive to her kittens. The babies are a little over 2 weeks old now. They're active and look very healthy - so healthy in fact, they've been trying to climb out of the wicker basket in which I placed them earlier this week. Today it was time for another move. I have an old child's toybox on wheels that I thought would be just the thing for mama and kittens. The babies won't be able to climb out because this box is deeper and they can't latch onto the sides as they could the basket. I'm not quite ready for them to be running all over the room and I'm sure mama cat isn't either. In a week or two I'll let them explore their surroundings. 

 

The cat family had company today and mama cat was very tolerant of us holding her kittens. I think many animals instinctively know when someone is friendly and means to do them no harm. Mama was more concerned with the other cats peering in the door at her than with us handling her babies.

My friends, Anna, Judy, and Bonnie brought "baby gifts".....cat food and litter! Thank you my friends. It's much appreciated and will surely be used. No cats from the other room entered the kitten nursery this time and all cats who would allow it, were given attention after we played with the kittens. Some days I could stay out there with the cats for hours....actually, some days I DO. 

One of the kittens (grey with white chin and paws) has begun to play with his mama and it's so cute to watch. A few days ago he grabbed his mama's tail and apparently stuck her with his needle sharp little claws because she fussed at him a bit. He was batting at her head today and I think he's probably going to be her problem child. He's awfully cute though.