Face Paint!

| April 25, 2015

I took Sam to the carnival at the Briarcliffe fire house last night. She LOVES carnivals and every day when we pass by on the way to my mom’s house, she sees it, so we had to go. I really didn’t want to, but I have to say, we had a blast. We played games, rode rides and Sam won lots of prizes. I spent a fortune to “win” those prizes, but….

Most importantly, Sam got her face painted! It was the first time ever. For some reason, she has always been afraid to do it, but not this time. I was so proud of her. I told her she’d have to wash it off as soon as we got home since it was already past her bedtime, but she didn’t care. We did walk back to Grandmom and Poppy’s house to show them before we went home, so it was worth it.

Here’s my rainbow faced girl!

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Manayunk

| April 20, 2015

Losing Zephyr was very hard for our family, and I imagine it will be hard for a long time. We all wish we had her back, but since that is impossible, I told Mark we should at least try to find ways to enjoy the relative freedom that being pet-less offers our family. I want to take short trips, get out more, and spend time as a family before we get another cat (which we definitely will do). Mark took my suggestion to heart and we spent a day out in Manayunk. We have always wanted to explore there but never really took the opportunity. Manayunk is a very cool place. Lots of shops, restaurants and it lies on the Schuylkill River. (And yes, I did spell Schuylkill correctly the first time I typed it, as well as Manayunk. Try that non-Philly dwellers!)

We wandered around a bit and went into some shops, but Sam’s favorite part was walking the Schuylkill River Trail. There are all these really pretty tiled “steps” and Sam wanted her photo with every one. This one was her favorite because it had turtles on it, just like her shirt.

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I love this pose. She is so silly.

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It was such a nice day. We watched some ducks and some geese on the river and just enjoyed being out as a family. We found a record store and some other cool shops. We even ate at a restaurant on the river.

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Before we got to too much shopping or anything else, it was time for a break to get Sam some energy food – ice cream!

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All in all, it was a pretty cool day. We will definitely go back again once we do some research and figure out the best places to eat and whatnot. Sam liked it and Mark and I liked getting out. We have some exploring to do!

Our Little Mermaid

| April 18, 2015

Today Sam had her first swim lesson at the Y. She wasn’t too thrilled about going, but we convinced her she’d have fun. It turned out pretty well – she did everything the teacher told her to do, and she even jumped off the platform, which I thought there was NO WAY she would do. She looked terrified, but she did it! Hopefully, she’ll learn to swim before I do. Hmmm…maybe she can teach me!

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The new normal

| April 17, 2015

It has been a hard few days without our little cat, but we are all trying to hang in there. We were outside playing with Sam’s sidewalk chalk and we started talking about how this was a perfect weather day, exactly the kind Zephyr would have liked. She decided she wanted to draw a picture of Zephyr in a beautiful yard, full of flowers, something Zephyr would like very much. Sam asked me to help her so we set out to work. Sam drew the grass, the sky and the flowers and I drew the tree. Sam added a rainbow, and then asked me if I could draw Zephyr. I drew my best approximation of our little cat (Sam thought it was a wonderful likeness) and then, one final touch, she added a squirrel for Zephyr to chase (right at Zephyr’s feet).

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Although this wasn’t something we did today, I decided to post this picture. Sam drew this for Zephyr a few days before she died. It was hung on the wall above Zephyr’s food bowls so she could see it every time she ate. It’s a picture of Sam taking Zephyr for a walk. She was so proud of this picture and how she made it look extra pretty by adding a flower.

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We spent a good part of the day just laying around, being a family. We played one of Sam’s favorites, Zingo, out on our porch. It did make us smile and forget our tears for a while. Having a kid is good for that. There’s always joy to be found. It’s a good thing to remember. I’m going to hold onto that thought for a while, I think.

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Goodbye, Zephyr, Our Love

| April 16, 2015

April 15, 2015 was one of the most difficult days our family has spent. It was the day we had to say goodbye to our little cat, our faithful friend of almost 17 years. Our Zephyr. Our first, furry little girl. She got sick very quickly and we knew that we were going to have to explain to Sam that her cat was going to have to go to heaven. As we expected, it was incredibly hard. Sam doesn’t understand death, who does, really, but she does understand that someone she loves is going away. Luckily, we had enough time with Zephyr so that were able to tell her all the things we wanted to, and to say goodbye. Sam misses her little cat so much, as we all do. My heart breaks for her, and, well, for all of us. Sam loved to do things for her little cat, feeding her, trying to play with her, even emptying her litter box on occasion. Zephyr was too old a girl to fully accept Sam the way she accepted us, but she loved Sam and came to really be sweet with her. Zephyr made a place in her heart for Sam and we will always appreciate that.

Although we have probably literally a thousand pictures of Zephyr, as we did with Muffin, and Sam’s good pal Blackie, I think it’s best on Sam’s blog to show Zephyr with her. How close they were, how Zephyr impacted Sam’s young life. We miss you so much, little Zephyr cat. Sam sleeps with your picture by her bed and none of us can walk through the house without seeing you everywhere. We have all cried a million tears already and I am sure will cry an ocean more. Things will never be the same, but, oh, how you changed us all. We love you.

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