DysFUNctional Mom and the Crazy, Surreal, Bizarre, Horrible and Wonderful Day

Let me tell you about last Friday.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are wondering if you're having a dream, or a nightmare? Things are so bizarre that they just don't seem real? That was my day Friday.

To begin with, I had just worked a 12 hour shift. I was a little tired. It was the kids' last day of school, and I was allowing Shelbie to spend the day with friends, but she hadn't been picked up yet. I walked into the room where the mama cat & her 5 babies stay, to check on them, feed them, etc. When I opened the door the first thing I saw was a tiny kitten lying limply on the floor. I picked him up and saw that he was alive, but in bad shape. He was clearly dehydrated, so I tried to get water into him. I ran into the living room and said to Shelbie, "DON'T LOOK!" She is SO tenderhearted, I knew she couldn't handle seeing him like that.

He wouldn't drink, but I got water into him with a straw and he was able to swallow. He even started meowing, but not really moving. I called the rescue director but got her voice mail. After giving him more water and still seeing no improvement, I decided to go to the Feed Store and buy kitten formula. Meanwhile, a storm had began and the rain was coming down in BUCKETS. I wrapped the kitten in a dish towel, and Shelbie and I ran out into the torrential rain. (I swear, I'm not exaggerating for effect. I was considering building an ark.)

The feed store is only about 2 blocks away. We ran in through the rain and looked for someone to direct us to the kitten formula. My eyes lock in on someone wearing Feed Store shirt....then I look at her face. It's one of my BEST FRIENDS, who I'd lost touch with in the last 2 years! We met in high school, and have been in touch off and on since then. She's the one who got me the job cleaning houses with her after my ex and I seperated. Then I worked in the day care and took care of her sweet daughter. I could not believe it was her! And...she has worked at that feed store, 2 blocks from my home, for the past SEVEN MONTHS.

Surreal. I'm standing in a feed store, holding a critically ill kitten, hugging one of my best friends! So, we get the formula and I immediately start trying to get it into the kitten, but at this point, he wouldn't even swallow. So I decided to get him to the vet. Shelbie had given my friend, Heather, my phone number & written down hers, while I was attempting to feed the kitten, so we promised to call and ran out the door.

When I got to the van, I looked at the kitten, and realized that he was no longer breathing. He had died in my arms.

I slowly drove home and Shelbie said "What are we doing?" I told her that there was no need to go to the vet, and we both started crying.

I had never had an animal die in my arms before. It was so, incredibly sad.

Later in the day, to add to the total weirdness, I'm standing in line at the grocery store near my house, and someone walks up behind me and says "You've got to stop following me around like this." I turn around and am face to face with my high school BOYfriend! My first 'real' boyfriend. We chatted for a minute and then he left. While I was paying for my stuff, he walked back in, handed me a slip of paper, grinned, and walked away. I opened it when I got in the van....it was his phone number! I was cracking up. It went straight to the trash can!

So, in one day, I reconnected with a friend who I dearly love, had a sweet baby kitten pass away in my arms, and then ran into my old boyfriend. Totally random and bizarre.

I keep wishing I'd found the kitten sooner, had formula on hand to give him, on and on, but I am trying not to feel too guilty. The rescue director said sometimes there's just one kitten out of a litter who doesn't make it. You do what you can but sometimes they just don't survive. Maybe something was wrong with him from the beginning, we'll never know. We buried him in our front yard and put a decorative stone over his grave.

As for my friend, we visited her Saturday night and got to spend time with her darling daughter, and we're planning on getting together again this weekend! Good times.