Gratitude and Grieving
[Note: I began drafting this on 11/28/25 and finished on 1/1/26] I thought to begin this on Thanksgiving Day when gratitude is a natural theme, and certainly one I celebrated by putting my ‘Give Thanks’ sign in the front window and sending ecards to family and friends. The grieving theme is big for me now as I just put my dear Dora, kitty companion for thirteen years, to sleep on the Monday before Thanksgiving. I’m grateful for the years of comfort and companionship I had with her, as I had for sixteen years with my first furbaby, Kenny. I’m especially grateful that I had a sweet cat to talk to and cuddle with through the long years of applying for job after job, trying to break out of a low paid customer service position with the state. Then less than a year and a half into my higher paid job with the county, we all got sent home to answer phones remotely all through the pandemic and beyond. For those nearly five years until I retired, Dora was my constant companion who ea...