Meet Punkin –

Years ago, I had a black cat named Stirman. He was most affectionate, always wanting to cuddle & coo. However, his brother was a terrorist of the first order. Caspar would pick on Stir, once even leaping on him from the top of the fridge, pushing him away when he approached me.

Life changed when I left Nashville & I had to leave Stirman in care of friends. Later they told me he had passed away. My friend who is a Shaman called soon after this to tell me she had a visitor who wished to speak with me – assuring me heartily she didn’t “do” animals… But Stir’s message was short & sweet; it drove me to my knees. He was going to return to me!

I was living in NM at this point, in a very tiny place with no room for a cat & eight merciless feral cats in the front courtyard. In my emotional state at the call, I agreed he should come to me.

A little backstory: In Nashville we had a cat who lived outdoors who was so civilized, he walked us to our cars in the morning & greeted us upon return. Grayson was buried up front of our apartment building – I found him by the side of the road one day. That was the moment death really hit me hard: that he would not be on the patio driving my cats to madness by his presence outside the window; he would not be accompanying me to the car, or staring down dogs on the sidewalk, or accepting as his due a pat on the head as I passed by. I prayed. I learned a lesson. I paid attention.

When Stir was channeled through, he said, “Don’t worry! I will find you there – you will know it’s me.” About ten weeks later when the local shelter advertised their kittens, one was named Grayson. In the meantime of that ad, I came to a heavy conclusion that I’d not be able to keep a cat where I was. I called the shaman to ask for help. She suggested I ask for help on the angelic levels – have my angels talk to his angels, so to speak. So I did. I explained the situation plainly.

But upon seeing a kitten named Grayson available in a place where so many animals are named Taco, Pepito & the like, I knew this was my little guy. I had to show up for that much love & find a way to adopt him. The paper came out on Friday – I was at the shelter when they opened Monday & said I wanted to adopt Grayson… I was told he had already been adopted – the shelter manager had brought him home as he was so very tiny & her next-door neighbor had taken him in.

Thus my “problem was solved.” I had missed my boy, but it was all for the best because of my living conditions. A kitty-sized hole stayed open inside me.

I went to our local shelter in T or C, Desert Haven, to volunteer & fell promptly in love with this 2-year-old tabby. I believe in my heart she bears overtures of Stirman’s spirit while being wholly her own self. However, she is affectionate, cuddly, behaved, playful & too dear for words, but words are all I have here.

We are together. We play on command. She naps at my side. She slides across me like she cannot rub back enough. I appreciate her with every fiber of my heart, which she is so actively healing. She is all her own manifestation, but we are surely meant for each other.

I look forward to every day so much more calmly now. Amazing what affection can do! I have been alone for a decade or more & now there is a light in my life by which I see my way more clearly.

Don’t ever give up on a dream, no matter how fanciful or rooted in what passes for reality. She sleeps now as I type this, her head touching my heel.

My little dream come true!