1st Christmas

I am 26 years old and I have never missed a Christmas with my family. Well, this year, I did. The holiday at the house consisted of only Mom, Dad, and Becky (my sister).

I won't lie - it was extremely hard to be away from my family because yes, I do LOVE my family and LOVE to spend lots of time with my family. Well, for the first time in years neither of the grandmothers spent Christmas with my parents and sister and I wasn't there either.

And on another honest note - I didn't regret it until yesterday. (Yes, I was super cranky the whole weekend - but I attest that to PMS.) My mom and my sister called me separately to give me some terrible news. My cat, Max, of almost 15 years had to be put to sleep. He was the most devoted, adorable cat to ever live in my life. He had been struggling for almost the entire month of December. My sister said it was like he had been holding on for US to come home. The whole week before Christmas he didn't eat. Until...my sister shared her wild Alaskan salmon with him on a little plate. He ate the salmon, probably the last thing that he ate in his life.

Sweet Jesus.

That is all I could think. That wild Alaskan salmon was caught by my Dad, Andy, while he was helping me move to Kodiak.

Max was a crucial part to my happiness as a teenager. (He listened and never talked back and never thought I was ugly or fat.) Oh, how I will miss that cat.

Next year -
I refuse to miss Christmas with my family.