October 2024 Monthly Wrap-Up
On October 4th, my sweet kitty Windy passed away. She had been on “comfort care” for about 12 days at that point, and her vet and I scheduled euthanasia a day in advance. My house seemed so empty and still afterward. I love her and miss her so much. There will never be another cat like her. Windy’s death was very difficult. At the same time, however, I had already grieved a lot over the two months that she was sick; in hindsight, I can see how physically and emotionally draining her illness and deterioration was for me. So it was also kind of nice to close that season of life and move forward.
I originally had a solo trip to Oregon booked this month. But I was so physically and emotionally exhausted, I knew that wasn’t a great choice right now. Instead, I ended up booking an Airbnb near Blue Ridge, Georgia and having the most beautiful week of vacation up there. I sat on the porch for hours journaling, praying, reading, or just listening to the silence. Brooke also came up to join me for a couple of days. It was pure peace–exactly what I needed.
The rest of the month, I threw myself into work. Other things I really enjoyed were spending time with friends from church; attending an excellent concert by a world-renowned organist; and having an opportunity to volunteer at CHOA making music with friends.
Finally, on October 27th, I did something maybe a little unexpected and crazy and… adopted TWO cats!! They’re four-year-old bonded brothers: a tabby (Ramble) and a black cat (who has yet to be renamed, but I’m considering Rocco, Rolo, or Romeo–let me know which one you like best). Their foster mom told me they will likely take a long time to warm up due to a recent traumatic experience. So far, they’ve been home five days and I’ve barely seen them. Hopefully next month I’ll have more to report.
(Man, this was really one of those months where I lived a whole life in 31 days, wasn’t it?)
This month I’m…
Reading: Dogland, Tommy Tomlinson. Leonard: My Life As A Cat, Carlie Sorosiak (reread). I Will Send Rain, Rae Meadows (DNF). The Rom-commers, Katherine Center. Accidental Demons, Clare Edge. How to Be Remembered, Michael Thompson. The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, and The Mark of Athena, Rick Riordan (rereads). Bright Dead Things, Ada Limon (reread). 10 total
Listening to: My October playlist. Stevie Nicks. Kelsea Ballerini’s new album. Phylicia Masonheimer’s Verity podcast.
Watching: When Harry Met Sally.
Writing: Just the usual in this category–my work as communications leader at my church; my voice and songwriting lessons; working on my book (not as much as I should, but there were extenuating circumstances this month); and I really really have been enjoying junk journaling.
Grateful for: Getting lots of old magazines to cut up and collage in my journal. October golden hour. Rediscovering my Harry Potter silk pillowcase. A toddler at church wearing hand-me-down dresses that were mine from when I was little. Making stickers on Canva. Motivation and creative energy for writing songs and playing the piano, both for the first time in a long time. Getting several great portfolio pieces from a single client campaign. Exploring a beautiful Episcopalian church. A girls’ trip. Small luxuries that feel big to me. Musical friends. All of the supplies the cats’ foster mom sent me home with. Easily getting concert tickets. Eating Panera mac n cheese for the first time in 5-6 years.
What did you do in October? What do you think I should name my new cat? As I’m finally actually finishing up this post on November 5th, it took me forever to finish typing the “grateful for” section because both cats kept walking across my laptop keyboard and messing it up.
