06/30/2024
Sometimes it takes awhile for grief to take hold - as happened to me this time as one of my quilled friends returned to the stars in Orion's belt.
Christina Hannigan described Carl as a "feisty guy" when I adopted him - but that did not last long. I would describe him as steady. He ate, he ran like the wind, and he flung p**p while wheeling like a pro. We argued often about lights on past 10 pm. Most recently, he also was helping me learn new ways of offering Reiki to animals ( thank you also to Leah and SARA). And for some reason, I have for quite a while used the word compassionate to describe Carl.
Carl left with little warning this week. One night he only ate half his food and didn't wheel as much as usual - at least judging by the abnormal cleanliness of the wheel. Other than a very slight change in his breathing, I couldn't find anything wrong. We had a talk and a cuddle - and he just asked to go back to bed. I noticed he was moving just a bit slow as he adjusted his fleece. The next time I checked on him, he had left for his next adventure.
This morning I felt like he was flying about dive bombing Abbee - who always sees our friends in spirit - and bam - the grief I was holding in let loose.
I trust he is flying on the wind just as he ran on his wheel - with passion - and that he will once again chat with me when we are both ready.