We'll Miss You, Mike

This week we had to say goodbye to our beloved family member Mike the Cat. He'd been a part of our family since early 2004 and was my constant companion through deployments and travels. He was a great cat, a companion to Missy and a playmate to Owen. Here are some things we'll always remember about Mike-

Mike Loved

-Watching over Owen from the day we brought him home

-His pal Missy

-Sleeping in our bed

-Snuggling up in a basket of freshly washed (and even folded) clothes

-Opening the cabinet doors and investigating whats inside

-Purring in my ear from the back of the couch as I tried to watch tv

-Rubbing against me whenever I got on the floor to play with the babies

Mike Hated

-the vacuum, his arch nemesis

-his cat carrier

-getting his nails trimmed

-any door that was closed

-being held

Owen and Mike were best friends and we knew telling Owen what had happened would be the hardest thing of all. How do you explain death to a 2yr old? We sat down and told Owen that Mike got sick and we had to take him to the vet but he was very very sick and he died. We explained that because Mike died, he is now in Heaven with Jesus. Owen listened intently and after thinking started to explain to us that Mike got sick, went through the vent and is now with Jesus. Hmmm, not quite the take-away message I was hoping for. We spent the next 1/2 hr trying to explain the difference between a "vet" and a "vent" and I even pulled up pictures of veterinarians on the computer. He still doesn't quite get it, but there are a few things he does get...he told me he wanted to tell his teachers at Kids Church that Mike was with Jesus and when we were singing worship on Sunday he heard the word Heaven and whispered in my ear that the song was about Mike. Such a sweet little boy who misses his kitty.