In Loving Memory of...

I still remember the day we brought her home,
there was a man outside my primary school with 3 kittens in a birdcage,
and I remember they were all taken at first,
but then one boy gave one back and said: "I can't take this on the bus with me",
I was quick to say: "I'll have it!" though I knew Dad would dissapprove...
As I walked home with mum, the cat escpaed from my arms,
thinking she was gonna make a run for it, I panicked,
but the cat was too young still to run, it's legs wobbled and it stood frightened on the footpath.

And that is how we ended up with our cat.
I was quite worried as my Dad was not a big fan of longterm furry pets,
so I gave him a call at work and asked.
"What colour is it?" he asked me,
"black with white socks" I told him, he was very please with that,
and from that day on, he's loved the cat til the day he went to heaven.
He would often speak to the cat,
show her off to visitors,
and 2 years ago, he even bought her a Christmas present (none of us got one!).
Through Miu Miu, we were able to see this soft side of Dad we don't usually see.
And we thank her for that.

She wasn't very happy when Dad died,
for days afterwards, she would sit in his study,
like she used to when he was in there preparing his sermons.
I think she must've realised that he was gone,
for after a while, she stopped going in,
and would just walk by, look inside, and keep walking with her head down.

Our cat was unique,
She ate with us at the dinner table,
she would put a paw on the table to ask for food,
and we would leave bite size bits of food on the edge,
she would paw it down and eat it on her chair,
if she was lucky, she would catch it in her paw and eat it that way!

King prawns cooked in tomato sauce was her favourite,
and that was what we fed her in her last months,
until she got too weak to eat.

There will be no more cat for me to come home to.
No more cat to cuddle when I'm stressed or sad.
I don't know what I'll do.
That emptiness.
It'll be tough.
But I trust that God will give me the strength.
As he has been and is still giving me the strength to cope with
the loss of Dad.
I wish people and animals I love wouldn't have to die.

Miu, though you're not in heaven where Dad is,
both of you are together in our memories,
Dad smiling and talking to you,
as you sit on his sermon notes, basking in the attention...

Good bye, Miu, we'll miss you always...
:~o(