Labor Day weekend was a very hard weekend for the Romagnolo Family. We had to put our sweet kitty, Gershwin (aka Bubba), down. He was 19 years old and not doing well at all. The girls and I loved this kitty so much. He was the best! Before the girls came along (and even after), he would be the one that could calm me down and help me relax at the end of a long day. I could feel myself relax just by him sitting on my lap while watching tv at the end of the day. It took awhile for Gershwin (can you tell I'm a music teacher?) to accept that the girls weren't going anywhere. Once he accepted it, he began to embrace them. Before he started getting sick, he would come in their room every night during story and prayer time. He would make his rounds to each of the girl's beds and maybe even stay with one of them while they fell asleep.
I knew that this day was coming. I began talking to the girls about it over the summer. On the Monday before Labor Day, I sat the girls down to explain to them that I would be taking Gershwin to the doctor on Friday and what that actually meant. I wanted them to have time to process and to be able to say their goodbyes. There were many, many tears. I took Gershwin after school on Friday. A very sweet friend of mine picked the girls up from school and took them out for ice cream (we love you Robyn!). Y'all...I just balled when I entered the Animal Shelter. The poor worker had to hand me a box of tissues. When I picked up the girls from my friends, Mia saw Gershwin's carrier. She cried the car ride to the store. When we got home, she lied down on the floor to my room to tell our other kitty, Sydney Bristow (name the TV show that she is named from), what had happened to Gershwin. Her tears started again and she and I cuddled on the couch. Mommy then made a yummy dinner and put on Gilligan's Island (their new favorite show). They laughed and laughed. The next morning they came in for a morning cuddle. Mia and I were feeling a little weepy and really missing Gershwin. She asked for me to get out his cat carrier. Something told me that I had to let her grieve in her own way. She took his carrier and curled up in a blanket on her trampoline and just cried. It was a really hard weekend. I didn't think that I would feel such a big hole in my heart.
We are still working through the grieving process. It's interesting to see how the girls have been dealing with our loss differently. I'm glad that Mia had a meeting with her therapist the week after we put Gershwin down. It gave her another opportunity to work through her grief. I told the girls that they will have to ask Santa for a kitty for Christmas. They need one that is just theirs. I have Sydney (she is scared of the girls). Mia said that she'd add that to her list. I'm curious to see what her list is. Mama is on a tight budget because I am working on a surprise for them for Christmas.
For now, we are just taking one day at a time and trying not to let the busy-ness of life wear us out. We are very excited that we are now under 50 days until we go back to Disney. I think that we are very ready for some Disney magic in our lives right about now! Stay tuned for more updates on our busy, but FUN fall!!!
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| Gershwin on our move from Florida to Texas, July 2007 |
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