The cold has wetly seeped through my thick soled clogs and into my feet. Only smartwools block out the chill. The other morning I was dozing before my alarm went off and I heard a loud whistling sound…sort of like a car that’s dying, only with more wheezing. It was so loud I actually had to put a pillow over my head. It took me a few seconds before I realized that the sound was coming from the end of the bed. Hobbes. She was snoring.

This reflects a growing realization I’ve had about my cat aging…not being able to jump up on things as nimbly as she once could; Walking around with her claws out; Snoring loudly. I remember once associating a certain noise with Josh, a sigh, a hum almost, that I used to hear when fading in and out of sleep. One night Josh was out of town and I still heard the noise. I realized that all these years it was my cat, lightly snoring next to me.