Pork

May 1992 —– April 1999

Cat

I was devastated when my mother passed away

unexpectedly a few days before Mother’s Day in 1992.

I was her only daughter and the love I felt for her

cannot be described with mere words.

I was so distraught that I cut off contact with the outside world

I felt I couldn’t go on with life any longer.

One very wise woman at the school I taught in called me and

said she desperately needed my help.

She had found a little kitten and needed someone to take care of it.

She told me she was going to bring the kitten into school the next day and

begged me to come back to work so I could help her with the kitten.

I had not been to work in weeks;

but the next day I showed up and met the little fellow;

he was no more than a month old. He was so skinny scrawny and

obviously in need of someone to take care of him;

he wasn’t even old enough to be weaned yet!

I took him in my arms and silently promised the tiny fur ball

that I’d “pork” him up a little bit.

For the next two weeks until school was released for the summer

the kitten came with me to my classroom and

I fed him every hour using a little doll baby bottle.

I held him in my arms like an infant as I taught my 6th graders.

All the students tried extra hard to be quiet and

all of them were gentle loving and kind to “Baby Pork”!

The intense pain I felt over the loss of my mother was eased a little bit

and all the love I had for my mother went into taking care of Baby Pork.

My mother was now with the Lord and he was taking care of her;

but this tiny helpless kitten was here on earth and

I needed to take care of him.

Baby Pork grew up to be Pork; and he became by

best friend confident and companion.

For the next seven years he followed me everywhere

and went everywhere with me.

He loved to go on car rides and even take showers!

In April of 1999 I went out of town for a couple days.

I asked a friend to visit Pork and check in on him so he wouldn’t be lonely.

That person let Pork outside as I had done a million times

so he could sun on the front porch.

He didn’t check on Pork as I had always done and left him outside too long.

When he tried to find Pork he could not and

I returned home to find that Pork had wandered off or had been taken.

I found his little collar lying in my driveway.

Even though I put up over 500 flyers and

checked at the animal protection league everyday for six months

I never saw Pork again.

I am crying as I write this my tears are for “Baby Pork,”

oh how I pray that he is not suffering.

I hope he is not confused wondering where I am or why he isn’t with me.

I feel so guilty that I left town and he was left outside.

I wish I could tell him that when I didn’t feel

I had a reason to keep on living he gave me one.

That very wise woman at my school knew what she was doing

when she placed him in my arms;

she was actually placing hope in my heart.

When I think of him now I envision him sitting in heaven

on my beautiful mother’s lap and she is gently stroking him;

they are both looking down

my mother is smiling and Pork is purring;

and they are patiently waiting for the time hopefully many many years from now

when the Lord calls me to come home too.

Monica

 

Pork