Dear neglected blog, don’t take it personally. I’m just not an active blogger. It’s me, not you. I hope we can still be friends.

One and one half months since my last posting, how absurd. Here’s the short version of some family stuff.

Jane and Freya joined me on my latest work trip to San Francisco and our sweet little muffin was a fantastic flying companion. Our flight from SEA to SFO was delayed by one hour which mucked up her feeding schedule and put her in a foul mood as we were boarding but it was short lived.

This month (March), Freya has started crawling backward and is able to push herself up on her arms very nicely. My favorite progressions in her development, though, is her laugh. Last week as Jane carried her around the house, Freya was laughing about everything, it seemed like she was practicing for some hilarious event that will eventually occur in her life. I really should make an audio recording and post it.

Unfortunately, my clock reads 11:28pm and I need to finish some house chores before running off to sleep so I will end the post here. Perhaps I will make more of an effort at regular updates.

Today was a very emotional day for Jane and I as we had to say goodbye to our very good feline friend Simon. For several weeks his health had been spiraling downward and I tricked myself into thinking everything was better when he showed signs of improvement for one week. However, his face continued to distort from swelling on his forehead and the third eyelid of his left eye was 50% closed. Monday and today he didn’t eat and wandered around with a distant look on his unfamiliar face. We suspect he was losing his vision because he was pacing around the house in strange patterns, running into things and getting stuck behind furniture.

I had to phone the vet to schedule the procedure and for the first time since we met, Jane saw me cry – which proves I’m probably still human.

Shortly after noon today Jane petted Simon as the doctor injected the series of fluids that would signal his retirement. The doctor’s best guess is that his swelling and deteriorating health was caused by some form of cancer. The procedures to verify the diagnosis were out of our price range at this time and it was very likely the results would tell us that he was in very poor health with no chance of significant recovery. It’s very frustrating but I’m confident that we did the right thing by not prolonging his suffering. He had a very good life with us and will be greatly missed.

Now that I’ve set a dreary tone for this post, let’s see if I can pull it around to something more celebratory.

A short and incomplete list of the things I loved about our dear friend Simon.

• His purr often rivaled the roar of a Harley Davidson when he would snuggle up to Jane at night.
• When working in my home office late at night, Simon would often hop into my chair between me and my chairback to fall asleep purring his face off.
• Simon was down for a nap any time of the day and would happily lay on my chest to make sure no one disturbed me.
• He was very good at playing with balls of crumpled paper.
• We could not have house plants because Simon would always find a way to rub his face in them, eat the leaves or knock them over. In the video below you’ll see his love for plants.
• He was one of the most social cats I’ve met. When visitors would walk through our door, he was there to greet them.
• Simon was talkative. He would sometimes walk into a room and start meowing to us as if telling us about his day.
• He was the boss and made sure our other pets stayed in line. When we brought Kona (our dog) home, Simon backed her into a corner the first day to send the message that he’s not to be messed with.
• He was crazy about being picked up and would seriously try to climb my leg just so I would cart him around like a baby.

This video was taken on Simons 14th birthday in our back yard. He was an indoor cat ever since I met him (though in his early days he was indoor/outdoor) and was always interested in escaping if there was a partially open door. The best part was even if he did escape he would only get as far as the first leafy plant because he would have to stop and stick his face in the leaves, it was like catnip for him.

You had a good life my friend and will forever live on in our fond memories and many photos, one of my very favorites is this one: