Hi. Mr. Monte here.

To my 23,416 feline followers, especially my many cat cousins residing in Virginia and Ohio, it is with the greatest sadness and deepest grief that I must tell you that my, no, our dear Miss Fleur has passed from this world. Only this morning, Ol’ Fuzz Face informed you in his post Windfall/Rainfall Profit that I was: “… engaged in anxious preparation for St. Valentine’s Day. His every waking moment has been focused on ensuring that his gifts and card for his dearly beloved Miss Fleur will be well received.”

Shortly after noon today, we received the call from Miss Fleur’s loving human companion that Miss Fleur had passed. – I was crushed; I am crushed with heartache and pangs of sadness. How can there ever be another Miss Fleur. My humans, Blondie and Fuzzy, have stayed close to me and held me. Now I understand why they have always said that Serendipity Farmhouse is not meant to be the house of their dreams; rather, it is the house of their realities. – Today, I suffer deeply from a Valentine’s Day reality.

Fuzzy, in his own clumsy way, is helping me through this. He reminded me of an article he gave to me to read about a week ago. The article Of Grizzlies and the New Creation, by Fr. Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM, Cap., provides the long view, the view through the lens of eternity, of this life on earth in the here and now versus what is yet to come. Although the article provides much hope for humans, the outlook for felines is not quite so clear. Nevertheless, I resolve not to abandon hope.

Meanwhile, in the here and now, in my time of temporal grief, in my Valentine’s Day reality, I have this card that Miss Fleur had prepared for me.

– – Dear Miss Fleur, please know that in my dreams this picture is a picture of you and me and how we were meant to be. Happy Valentine’s Day! I will love you always. – Your Mr. Monte