What can I say about Dimitri and Anya - litter-mates born in Austin, Texas on October 31, 1996. Reunited April 4, 2014. As 16 week old kittens, they flew with me from the home of their wonderful breeder, we called her Mama Geri, from Austin, to Houston, to Denver. An hour's drive from the airport, up Mt. Vernon Canyon, to our home in Genessee. They had many happy years as indoor cats up in the mountains, except for Dimitri's 9 day walk-about (we refused to give up hope that he would return even though we were surrounded by mountain lions, fox, eagles, hawks, all sorts of dangers). Memories of our trips to our adobe home in Santa Fe New Mexico, especially Christmas 2001 - my favorite picture taken from outside our casita with Dimitri sitting in front of the kiva fireplace, looking up at the Christmas Tree, Anya using her fleece saucer as a sled sliding along the heated brick floors. From there, to the highrise in downtown Denver (where the cats watched the peregrine falcons from our 23rd floor windows), down to Tucson, where bobcats were frequent visitors to our back yard pool and fountain. And then the first overseas flight to Geneva. Both were little angels in their Sleepypod carriers, specially designed to fit under the seat so they could go with us in the cabin. They were better than I was - I was a wreck worrying about them! After our first cruising season on Alouette, we returned home to the states for the winter, mainly to get our long term visas.
We've had a lot of time to reflect on this wonderful lifestyle, we wouldn't have missed doing this for anything; but as we've told so many friends in the past few weeks, life doesn't change, we still have the responsibilities, the ups and downs, the frustrations, the many moments of great joy...its just we're over here in France on a boat. And life goes on. My sister passed away last year, and as we prepared for Christmas our favorite Aunt Lil passed away suddenly - she had knitted hats for her great grandkids, her Christmas shopping done. My sister-in-law, Julie, who has been a mother to me all of my life, is in the later stages of Alzheimers. I could dwell on the downside, but choose to see the beauty in how this is playing out - my niece Kathy and I have become closer as we are in touch almost daily about Julie's condition and treatment, but more about how to support each other during this time. She is the little sister I never had, and I am so grateful for her.
The past six months, we've been nursing our ailing companion, Dimitri. Both cats were diagnosed with renal problems 2 years ago, not uncommon for older cats. We nursed Anya along during our cruising season in 2012 - we sadly said goodby to her in August of 2012. Dimitri, fortunately, was in fairly good health until this past fall (2013). We struggled with whether or not we should travel with him, but he was in pretty good shape when we flew back to the US in November of 2013. He was in good shape through Christmas, but then started the downward spiral. He was well enough to return with us to France in early February, but after a few rallies, he simply stopped eating, and it was time to say goodbye.
I look back at all of the posts I could have/should have done, and there are so many. But when we bring a pet into our lives, we enter into an agreement, a compact, to do the best by them. And that is what we have been doing for two years now. We still have had amazingly wonderful experiences traveling the canals here in France. Each day is the experience of a lifetime. But it has been difficult for me to sit down and write about it as we watched our sweet buddies deteriorate.
So here we are, Easter 2014. We look forward to the visit of our good friends Doug and Julie Joseph, sailing and diving buddies, in May of this year. We hope to cruise up to Paris and the Champagne region this summer, but also, we know we must take advantage of the opportunity to do some things we haven't been able to do. In June, we will travel to the American Military Cemetery outside of Cambridge, England, to place a wreath on the grave of my half-brother, Joey, an army medic, who died on June 29, 1944, from wounds suffered as a result of the Normandy invasion. This fall, we hope to welcome our Todos Santos friends, Doug and Lisa, for an autumn cruise, and afterwards we plan to travel to the Slovak Republic to see my ancestral villages. But someday soon, we hope to again sit in front of a blazing fire with a cat or two on our laps, listening to their purrs.
A special thanks to our good friends Woody and Marion, who have been with us through so much, and sent this photo of the nautical cats taken in May of 2011:
