Farewell Miss Maybelle...

This is probably one of the saddest things I will ever write, about one of the saddest days I've ever had in my entire life. My dearly beloved constant companion, devoted sidekick, and be-whiskered best friend Maybelle passed away early last week. She had been going through a patch of ill-health since earlier this year, complete with weekly visits to her favorite vet and tons of cuddles, and we knew this day was coming, but it was still way, way, way more heartbreaking than I could ever have possibly imagined. She's been with me for so long that I can't even remember what life was like without her, but I know that it will never be the same.

We've been trying to cheer ourselves up by looking through a million photos, reminiscing about her antics and marveling at how she really was the cutest cat in the world, with her crazy big eyes, freckle face, cleopatra eyeliner and fluffy white boots. These are a few of the last pictures I got to take of her, about a week before she fell ill, when she decided to have a bed-in one day, purring like crazy all the while about the harmonic convergence of two of her all time favorite things, snuggly down blankets and basking in the sun:

She also got to enjoy a ton of her all time favorite thing in the world this year, the great outdoors! After years of being an apartment kitty, she was filled with wonder at all the birds and bees and flowers and trees that were to be found in our new backyard and demanded that we hang out there pretty much all of the time, which we gladly obliged:

As a firm believer in both ghost stories and cat magic, I'm still waiting (im)patiently to spot visions of her little lion face out of the corner of my eye or hear the pitterpat of tiny ghost paws on the floorboards, but in the meantime, rest in peace Miss Maybelle,
we ❤ you!