Today marks the 2nd anniversary of Mama and Papa meeting Matthew and Thomas. The joy of the day has been dampened by the passing this day of Mel the cat.
Mel was just about 14 years old and had lived with Chris for 18 months in Newington, 6+ years in West Hartford and now nearly 6 years in Farmington. Every night that Chris was home, Mel would either lead him to bed or wait for him on the bed. When Chris would lie down, Mel would place the top of his head under Chris' chin and purr for about 15 to 20 minutes. After that, "Mr. Shnuggles" would get off the bed, have drink of water (only from the bowl by the bed, never the water dishes in the kitchen) and would then either move on or curl up at the foot of the bed.
Mel was a gentle giant, and total wimp, attaining a weight of 19 pounds, but ending at 12+. In all his years, he was only known to hiss once - at Lucy. He was rarely fresh and even when he was, he was sweet, and that's probably the best word to describe him - he was sweet through and through.
He seemed fine until two nights when he didn't come to bed. Yesterday he was limping on a foot with an in-grown claw, staying under a bed and not eating. He even let Thomas pet him. We got him to the vet who diagnosed an infection, took care of the in-grow claw and prescribed antibiotics. He was up late last night and ate, walking better. This morning the same - even better, almost looking normal (tail in the air!). Then there was loud meowing which was totally uncharacteristic as he had the meekest voice, he was panting and in obvious distress. We put him in the carrier and rushed to the vet, but he expired en route. The blood work from yesterday showed nothing more than an infection. The vet suspects there was a cancer.
Mel had a great life with a family that loved him, and he gave much love back - forget all those things you hear about cats being standoffish or aloof. Mel always had a look of "What would I do if I were a cat?" and was the brunt of much joking, but it was all in good fun. He will be missed.
We're trying to figure out if there is a message in his passing on this anniversary. I always referred to him as my son and more recently as "number one son". It's as though he has passed the torch.
Happy New Year, everyone!
We enjoyed having Aunt Barbara and Babushka with us.
Matthew in his Cub Scount regalia.
Pay attention to the signs at Flamig Farm that tell you not to feed your fingers to the horses. Thomas found out the hard way! 
Thomas, too, had a very good summer at KinderCare. He was quite a hit with the teachers, and provided a steady diet of comic relief. His already charming personality has blossomed even more, lately. As for school, we're changing things up a bit this year. Thomas is enrolled in the full-day program at the Farmington Collaborative Preschool. He just started last week, but already he loves it. It was a very hard decision to change schools. In his new school, though, he is going to get lots of help in special areas to catch up with his friends. The best part is that he is so happy. He gets transportation home, and every day he arrives in the driveway saying "I had an AWESOME day!"Here's Papa and Thomas getting ready to head out in the morning.
