I felt the silky softness of Abbygayle’s fur against my arm. In the midst of my sobbing, I moved my arm to pet her. She snuggled into me. The repetition of stroking her back helped calm me. Soon my sobs became sniffles and after a little more time the sobs ceased. This seems to have become our routine, when the despair and depression threaten to overtake me my amazing angoras, Sebastian and Abbygayle, provide unconditional support that allows me to find a moment of peace.
I don’t know how they know, but animals seem to have an innate sense of empathy and compassion. Whenever I am feeling despondent or alone, either Sebastian or Abbygayle seem to understand. One or both are by my side offering comfort and companionship. My furry friends remind me that I am loved. I look into those trusting brown eyes and find the strength to keep going.
One of the immediate results of THE ACCIDENT was a softball sized hematoma on my left arm accompanied by a considerable collection of multi-colored bruises that covered almost my entire arm. After I came home from the hospital, Abbygayle hopped up and cautiously explored my arm. A few sniffs and she scampered away. Until the pain subsided enough for me to tolerate a whisper of contact, she would sit and stare intensely at my arm. It was as if she were trying to figure out why I was different. One day she hopped closer and gently started licking the hematoma. She did this every day for months. I believe that by “cleaning” my wound, she was trying to help me heal. She did. Her soft, tender bunny kisses may not have increased the absorption of the hematoma back into my bloodstream, but her bunny kisses were a balm to my battered soul.
Abbygayle selected a fairly direct path to help me heal. Sebastian was more subtle. He would lay beside me, his long, angora wool barely touching my injured arm. Every once and a while he would gently nudge my hand with his nose, demanding head rubs. Sebastian’s constant, quiet companionship consistently reminded me that I was not alone.
I sometimes wonder what they have thought about this monumental change to all of our lives. Has it been as upsetting to them as it has been to me? Is change simply
something to accept and more forward? Their world has changed too. I would like to believe that they enjoy spending more time with me. I don’t think I would have gotten through this tragedy without them. Everyday my furry friends give me at least one reason to be grateful.
Finding things to be grateful for can be difficult. Knowing that there is always at least one thing to put in my gratitude journal each day provides me motivation to find more things, people, situations, etc. for which I am grateful. Abbygayle and Sebastian remind me how much I am loved and how important it is to express that love, sometimes in the simplest ways!
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