Today was supposed to be our first day on the road and already we've had a mishap. In the middle of our big send-off party last night, Kieran grimly took me aside to tell me that our cat sitter (Kieran's sweet Aunt Tracey) had phoned to let him know that while she was at work, one of our cats had fallen out of the second story window of her office and was missing. We had no less than twenty-five guests waiting for us in the restaurant, so neither my instinct to drop everything and race to Maple Ridge to search for our kitty nor my instinct to curl up on the floor in the fetal position and sob listlessly seemed like appropriate options. Instead, we returned to the party and for about ten seconds it seemed like I might be able to maintain my composure. But then I did the thing where you do facial gymnastics in trying to suppress the Ugly Cry and then the Ugly Cry wins and you end up doing the Really Ugly Cry because of your efforts not to cry.After the Ugly Cry incident, I think we both managed to enjoy the party through sheer will, although it did feel as though I had swallowed whole something the size and weight of a medicine ball. And my Stomach Medicine Ball had some kind of sinister anxiety time release mechanism, where every twenty minutes or so it would remind me of yet another reason why we would never find our cat again. "Logan doesn't know where he is, he's new to the province, and he'll wander off into the woods and get lost...forEVER," my Stomach Medicine Ball would hiss and then, through it's ability to generate more anxiety and then feed on it, my Stomach Medicine Ball would get bigger and heavier. So I did have fun, but I found the fifteen pounds of anxiety pressing against my internal organs physically uncomfortable.
After the party wound down, we drove out to Maple Ridge, literally catching the Albion Ferry on its last crossing, and began scouring Tracey's neighbourhood. I'm sure having two people waving around flashlights and repeatedly calling out "Looooooggggaaaannnnn" in voices several octaves higher than normal while creeping around yards and peering under cars at 1:30 in the morning didn't exactly impress Tracey's neighbours. But, just when it was starting to seem futile, I heard a familiar little meow and out popped Logan from under a fence. He was limping and hungry and covered in something smelly, but he was found. When Tracey opened her door and saw Kieran with Logan in his arms, she was so relieved she burst into tears and then the floodgates opened and I burst into tears and my Stomach Medicine Ball finally dissipated.
So, seeing as how we didn't get to bed until 3:00 in the morning, our 6:00 wakeup call didn't seem likely, so we put off the trip for a day. It all seems for the best, as it hasn't stopped raining once today. Tomorrow we'll get to leave well rested and, as a bonus, we won't have to spend our first day riding through apocalyptic rain storms.
Oh, look at our poor baaaaaaabbby who fell out of a window and has a sore paw and has to go to the vet's today and now his momma and daddy are GOING AWAY for THREE MONTHS. *sniff*
PS Because Tracey has been so kind and generous in offering to care for our three cats so we could go on this trip, we wanted to give her organization a shout out. Tracey works tirelessly for Katie's Place, a no-kill animal shelter that cares for cats and rabbits. What's so special about Katie's Place is that it takes on a lot of animals with special needs. If you're thinking about adopting, you might want to consider adopting one of their special needs kitties. Or, if you have the space, you might want to consider fostering a kitty or bunny. And, Tracey? MWAH! We heart you. Thank you for being you.
