W is for Waldo

Waldo jumped out of a Christmas stocking and into my life on December 24, 1995. He was a gift from my childhood bestie who was in veterinarian school at the time. I remember how unsure I was about taking on a kitten, but she promised to take him back at New Years if I hadn’t formed an attachment by then. But I was a goner before twenty-four hours had passed.

My first-ever feline friend saw me through some hard, lonely years and into two new phases of life: marriage and motherhood. Along the way he taught me to make time for play and laughter every day. I miss my orange guy. He was an old soul, gone too soon at only thirteen. But life goes on. Our sweet girls, Izzy and Bella, have wormed their way into my comfy chair, the laundry baskets, and of course my heart.

Life Lesson: Love the one you’re with.