Our cat, Hudson, recently passed away and in search of comfort, I went to a book. It is a fairly common practice when someone passes away. Most people find solace in the
Bible or
Torah or other sacred tomes. I found solace in a quote found in the opening pages of
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows:
"Death is but crossing the world, as friends do
the seas; they live in one another still.
For they must needs be
present, that love and live in that which is omnipresent.
In this divine
glass, they see face to face; and their converse is free, as well as
pure.
This is the comfort of friends, that though they may be said to
die, yet their
friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever
present, because immortal."
~William Penn
I feel fortunate that we had a lovely morning with him prior to heading off to church. He even allowed Ani to bestow many post-breakfast kisses upon him whilst lounging about the sofa. He died near his food bowl. I hope he had just finished eating- one of his favorite pastimes.
My brother, an ardent animal lover and current cat owner, called to offer his sympathies and left me with a comforting thought. When Hudson and I first met, I was newly single and a little lonely on Wittenberg's campus during my senior year of college. After graduation we moved up to Chicago together and moved several times since. Hudson was with me through a major heartbreak, a new job, graduate school, my first years as a teacher, my first home purchase, my wedding, my pregnancy, the birth of Ani and many ups and downs along the way. We went through a lot together and he left me in a far better state than when he found me we found each other.
