Chessie Did a Great Job Training my Mom to be my Mom!

In 1988 when my Mom was two she travelled to Richmond to see Robert Goulet in "South Pacific."  My Mom says it was brutally cold for the fall and her friend Jeannie's daughter brought home a kitten that nite who was so tiny she fit in my Mom's hand.  She had the tiniest blue eyes and a Nike swish under her eye. My Mom did not want another cat but Jeannie said if she did not bring the kitten home then the kitten had to go back out into the cold parking lot where the mother-cat and human-family had abandoned the kittens. My Mom brought Chesterfield home in the car with her at the end of the weekend. Mom called her that because she was found in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was much simpler to call her "Chessie," and so my Mom did until five years ago today when she was very ill and had to be put to sleep. Like me, Chessie had a lot of health problems from the time she came home until she died. She was not socialized like me and did not like anyone but my Mom - she would hiss at everyone else and hide inside the sofa bed my Mom moved three times so Chessie would have it. But Mom says Chessie was always very happy and content and loved her life. She taught my Mom to be happy, find time to play, and ultimately, how to die with dignity. It was a hard lesson in 2005 but one that would be a blessing and a huge help because 2005 was not a good year for anyone in our family.

My Mom honored Chessie's memory by finding another little homeless kitten - me! - and by continuing to serve with two great friends as moderators of a feline chronic renal insufficiency group.  My Mom is blessed to have had great advice from that group and has two great friends - Donna and Joy. I have cousins - Callie, Bat and Emerald. Catalina, my other cousin, lives with Chessie until we see her again...

But here's the thing - I think Chessie was a goody-two-shoes!!! Apparently, she did not flare her nostrils, her tail was not a lethal weapon and she did not have a temper. I have overheard my Mom commiserate about trying to give me pills and remembering that no matter what the pill was if she put it on the counter and asked Chessie would simply eat it for her. I just think that is very odd behavior for a cat, even if it was a Southern cat with nice Southern manners! My Mom says I am her "payback cat," for having such an easy-going cat ^..^ She always laughs when she says it so I know it is okay that we are different and that she loves us both very very much!