RIP Stanley

Well friends, it's New Years Eve. The time that people are looking back and looking forward. As I look back on the past year I'm struck by many things, it's been a year of big change for me, and I think I would say that it's been the best year in Denver. However, in these last two weeks of the year I've been sad and I'm afraid I'll always remember 2008 as the year of Stanely.

Granted, he moved in with me in 2007, but we didn't interact much during that year. He spent most of it under the bathtub, and I spent that time trying to ignore him, hoping it would entice him to come out. In 2008 though, I locked the bathroom to him and he moved to hanging out under my bed, and sitting on my blue hand-me-down chair. Little by little he would come out more while I was home. There were even a few times where he would come by and sniff my feet before hopping up in his chair and one frightening moment for him when I was cleaning out his litter box and the two of us were stuck in the bathroom. He was crying to be let out poor guy - too close for comfort.

When I left for Christmas vacation, he was acting a little strange - and so I asked a friend to look in on him more closely than we had talked about. Sadly, he passed while I was out of town and it's been really strange to be back. I find myself continuing my habits of accommodating him even though he's not in the apartment. I listen for him, I watch for him to come out of hiding while I'm watching television, and he doesn't come. If you would have asked me a month ago how attached I was to Stanley, I would have told you that I wasn't really attached to him. I guess I just didn't realize how much he'd become a part of my life.

Here's to 2009. To continuing my habits of living better, and to finding peace with Stanley.

Happy New Year! Love, Maria