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Another version of the word “fondness” is “soft spot”. Our family has a definite soft spot for animals. Although I like dogs, too, my favorite typical household pet is a cat. I love kitties. They are cute, cuddly, and have a mind of their own. We have had many drag their claws across our hearts over the last 30+ years.
Most of the kitties that have made their home with us have been outside kitties. There have been occasions for us to bring inside this one or that one. We’ve had to bottle feed rejected babies on several occasions and rescued one from what appeared to be a catnapture. This last one was our beloved Xerxes.
Xerxes was born around 1 June 2014. We don’t know the exact date, but he was here already when Davey left for the Marine Corps. We brought Xerxes inside to bottle feed and otherwise take care of. We were newly empty-nesters and he was our new baby, our transition to this new life of home with no live-in kids. We made lots of plans for our old age including our new little baby. Those plans were not meant to be.
On 23 September 2015, our precious Xerxes was diagnosed with feline leukemia. He was given a transfusion (and was not at all happy about anything that vet visit entailed!). We did what we could to make him comfortable and keep him alive. He got better for a time, but then relapsed. We took him back to the vet and were told that they could give him another transfusion, but even with it, he likely wouldn’t live beyond two more weeks. We opted out of that transfusion and prayed that Heavenly Father would heal our little Babykins.
We were afraid that he would be alone when his time came, so if we had to go anywhere, we took him with us. We didn’t leave the house if we could avoid it.
On 19 October 2015, after a very difficult time and intense pain, in David’s arms and me stroking his head, our little Xerxes entered Rainbow Bridge to be with his other brothers and sisters and kitty cousins. It was one of the most difficult days we’ve had in a very long time.
It was this kitty especially that brought a fondness for cats to my husband and it was this kitty that took our hearts with him. There will always be a Xerxes-shaped hole in our hearts that belongs to him.
Please be sure to read David’s post over at Random Thoughts and Observations.
Also, please be sure to visit our hostess Rosema at Word-High July.
Disclaimer: These Filipino word images are from an article by Isabelle Laureta on BuzzFeed titled “36 Of The Most Beautiful Words In The Philippine Language”. All credit goes to them.
awww. love how you unfold Xerxes’ story. ❤ i believe she is an adorable one. ❤ ❤ ❤
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Thank you, Rosema. He was one very special kitty. 🙂
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your words surely showed that, Suz! ❤
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Thank you, Rosema. 🙂
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you’re welcome, Suz! 😀 I am wondering if David can read my comments??? I am not sure if I submit them right.
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He sees the comments you make on his blog and responds to them there. His blog is on Blogger, not WordPress. Also, his comments are moderated, so sometimes it takes a while for them to show up.
He gets no notification when you respond to his comments on your blog because he doesn’t have a WordPress account.
Have a blessed day. 🙂
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oh. thank you for the info, my friend! I am glad he can read them. You two are an awesome couple to follow. ❤
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Thank you. That is very sweet of you to say. 🙂 Have a beautiful day…or, rather, night, Rosema. One of these days i’ll remember we’re opposites when it comes to night and day. 🙂
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Haha. It’s okay! I am forgetful too! 😀 😀 😀 Have a great day, Suz!
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You, too, Rosema. Thank you. 🙂
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❤ ❤ ❤
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🙂
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Lovely words Suzanne. As a part-time poet and full time cat butler I can relate to your sentiments.
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Thank you, Davy. Have a blessed day.
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Awww…what a lovely tribute.
On a personal note, I love cats, however, I am allergic to them…we have always had dogs (we had a cat once until I had a serious reaction to it that required hospitalization and so therefor, Bocepheus was given to a friend to live his final days on a farm)…have a beautiful day friend.
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Aww I’m sorry that you were allergic to your cat. That is sad. David was having bad reactions to our cats years ago, but I think his body finally got used to them. For awhile there he sounded like he had tuberculosis, the cat hair made him cough so much. I am sorry you had to be hospitalized for it! We have dogs, too. Actually, both of them together aren’t big enough to be one regular-sized dog. haha
Have a blessed day, my friend. 🙂
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its all good….I had a disease called cat scratch fever…it was horrible…we have always had big dogs…have a beautiful day friend.
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I’m glad you’re okay now. We had a German Shepherd/Chow for many years. We got Shep in 1996 and she passed away in 2008. She was already aging when we got her. She was about 18 when she passed away. These little ones we have now were puppies when we got them and are about 3 years old now. They are our grand-puppies, really. They live with us because their mommy is in school. I hope you have a beautiful day, too, my friend. 🙂
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our shep. is 42 in adult yrs…he is something else, let me tell you, lololol. Have a beautiful day friend.
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I bet he is. German Shepherds are great dogs. How old is that in doggy years? Have a blessed day, friend. 🙂
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hmm…6???????? yeah, 6×7 is 42. Ok, math is not my thing, LOLOLOL
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I couldn’t remember what the doggie years had to be divided by. Math isn’t always my thing either. 🙂
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I have learning disability in math, sad to say…but I do know my times tables, lol.
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I often get numbers mixed up, turned around. There’s a name for it (other than dyslexia) but I can’t remember it. I know the times tables, but sometimes I still have to use my fingers. haha
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dyscalculia is what I have….all from a head injury when I was 8-9 yrs old. 40-41 yrs later and that side of the brain is still scrambled-lol. (my brothers pushed me out of the tree house, no girls allowed thing) long story….but my parents didn’t take me to the dr. and recently (2 semesters) ago I had undergone extensive 9 week testing and a MRI.
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I’m sorry that your brothers hurt you. Did they get in trouble for it?
Our oldest son caused our youngest daughter to fall off the porch, which broke her arm. He also stacked tile boxes (we were redoing the floors) into a pyramid for her to climb. She climbed it and fell and bit through her lip. The ER looped her up so they could stitch her lip back. Her response to the sleepy meds was funny, but the whole event was anything but funny.
I’ve got scrambled brains myself. When I was working at a convenience store, merchandising the beer cooler, and 18 pk of Bud Light fell from a shelf way over my head and hit the side of my face and head. Then, another time, a 12 pk fell straight onto my upper face/forehead. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that Bud Light is light. It is NOT. 🙂 I think it cracked my skull and something important must have oozed out. haha There is hope for our injured noggins, though. We can rebuild what was lost, at least to a degree. Here’s to us rebuilding brain power! 🙂
What did your test results say? I’m sorry if that is too snoopy to ask and you don’t have to answer, of course. Did it say anything other than the dyscalculia?
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no, my brothers did not get in trouble…their the “golden ones,” lol. I have a 3rd grade level of math…luckily I do not have to take anymore math courses. I am sorry about your injury…
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That’s okay. I have headaches often, but the rest I can deal with. I’m sorry they didn’t get in trouble for hurting you! I had a golden one in my family, too. My little sister could do no wrong. I’m glad that neither one of us have to take any more math courses. 🙂
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sorry about that, I meant to write you back…I was working on changing the background here, I decided to try the “Blissful Blog” template…don’t be sorry, all is good…I get headaches when having to deal with math/numbers if their more than say 2 or 3 sets, forget fractions…I also get headaches when dealing with stressful situations…and perhaps that is why I am good at facts/History which is what I am majoring in, smiles. Math is not facts for me…sure 2+2 =4. But anything like Geometry, Alegrba etc…forget it, lol.
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I agree! And then they have to throw in imaginary numbers. What’s up with that? If the numbers are imaginary, then they should imagine that I got the answers right. haha
I have always loved history. It was my favorite subject in school and still is.
I will pray for you to be free of these headaches. How’s the background change going?
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I know right???(about math) I took a summer course last summer and with my husbands help I passed Alegbra with a B+ (had to retake it thanks to getting a D) and now I passed Liberal Math with a D+ this past semester–NO MORE MATH…hooray!!! (thanks to be recognized with a disability) I dunno, this coming semester is Japanese and Macro Economics…at least Macro is facts. lol
Background is done…you know, I just can’t make my mind up. Keeping y’all in prayer as well…..
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If the background is the one that I saw when I clicked into your blog earlier, I thought it was very nice. Decisions are the worse, aren’t they? 🙂
Wow, Japanese. That should be a lot of fun. Let me know how that goes! There have off and on been free Kindle books on Amazon for learning to speak Japanese and about their culture. You might want to check into those. Every little bit helps, right?
David has a Masters degree in financial management and has had all sorts of economics and math classes. He’s more brave than I’ll ever be!
Thank you for the prayers. 🙂 Have a blessed day!
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I’m not to worried about either classes….I started taking Spanish and had to drop it, many diff. reasons why…but Japanese, I am taking a diff. approach/diff. mindset. I will have my two degree for Adolescence Education in History/Global Studies. I have to transfer to a Univ. to finish off…When I am done I will have a masters in History and International Relations/Global Studies. Have a great day!!!
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I think it sounds like a great degree to have. Anything involving history is very interesting. I know you’ll do great. 🙂 Our oldest daughter (Tinkerbell) is working on her anthropology degree with a specialization in archeology and a minor in history. Lots of dirt under her nails for that one. 🙂 You have a great day, too.
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Thanks…well..I can retain facts, just not numbers, LOLOLOLOL. Congratulations to your daughter, I have always wanted to be Indiana Jones. smiles
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🙂 One difference between Laynie and Indiana Jones is she doesn’t plan to destroy things. Did you know he destroyed the floor of a library in one of the movies?
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yes…I slightly remember that…lol…but if I seem to remember, wasn’t he being chased? lol
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I have no clue. I never watched the movies. Laynie told me it happened in one of them. She says no, he was just busting through the floor to find something. 🙂
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Mommy,
You did Xerxes proud!
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Thank you, baby. 🙂
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Aww this. This is too heartfelt and raw that it’s not enough to call it beautiful. I love reading posts out of people’s stories and this one is probably one of the best. Simply genuine. I’m sorry for your loss, Suzzane. Yet I know wherever Xerxes maybe, he’s smiling at you right now. 💕❤️😭
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Thank you, Maria. This is such a sweet comment and I appreciate it very much. He is healed now and no longer suffering, but we miss him so very much. Thank you. {{{Hugs}}}
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