My Aubergine Ass

I'm exhausted. Because of my fall over the weekend I haven't been able to get much sleep. My backside is at least three different shades of purple and some yellow. My temper is short and I have a big meeting tomorrow with my staff telling them they WILL do things the way I want them done. Not a good equation. Pray for me.

And pray for my cat. His name is Butch and in a few weeks he'll be 20 years old, if he makes that long. The last couple of months he's stopped grooming himself, so his fur is all knotted, and yesterday he stopped eating.

When I got my first cat, Genny, she was forced upon me. Then, only a few weeks after I got her she had her first litter of kittens. Butch is from that litter. When I made the decision to keep him I looked him straight in the eye and said, "You get sick, you die." I had him neutered, and that's the only medical attention he's received. I don't believe in prolonging a pet's life with expensive medical procedures. I have a friend who had two dogs and at one point she had $34,000 of debt in medical expenses for her dogs. I couldn't do it.

That said, if we're reaching Butch's end days I'm going to be a wreck. When it came time to put Genny down I called to make the appointment and I literally could not speak. The call took nearly fifteen minutes with me doing a lot of heavy breathing. Why the woman on the other end didn't hang up, I'll never know.

I've lived with Butch for 20 years and I vowed that when he went I'd be done with pets. And I'm going to keep that vow. But I have to say I wouldn't mind having him around for a few more years.

So, please, pray for Butch.