WELCOME
I am writing this week’s Love Note with a few little tears in my eyes. We’ve been fostering a lovely cat, Speedy, and I dropped her off today because she is being adopted tomorrow. It’s a bittersweet moment, because we are so happy that she has found her forever home, but we are so sad to see her go.
We were only supposed to have her for a few weeks in April, for her to be spayed and recover somewhere comfortable before being adopted. A few days after we picked her up however, our third COVID lockdown in Ontario happened and they were forced to pause adoptions. A few other things happened too to prolong her stay, so long story short, what started out as a 2-3 week foster, ended up lasting almost 4 months.
I knew she wasn’t the cat meant for us, so though we did toy with the idea of keeping her, it didn’t feel like exactly the right fit for either us or her. Because of this knowledge, I didn’t expect to be so positively affected by her presence in our lives; we really bonded with her, and it was so much harder to let her go today than I thought it was going to be.
Speedy and my feelings about having to take her back today made me realise that I had a similar experience with cancer: I was completely not expecting the way it would affect me. I suspected, of course, that there would be ripples and impacts and changes, but I was not prepared for the many positive effects it would have.
What these experiences have taught me is to remain open to letting unexpected things affect you in unexpected ways. Our lives can change for the better in an untold number of ways and at any moment. I have learned to be on the lookout for the little surprises of life and to welcome them, even if they don’t seem positive at first; you never know where they are going to lead you.
The lockdown was terrible, but it resulted in Speedy being with us long enough to make me realise just how much we need and want a furry companion in our lives, and cancer, well cancer has made me realise just about every other significant thing in my life. It’s all just more evidence for me that things happen as they are meant to happen, and that even the negative things in our lives can lead to some of the greatest positives if we simply keep an eye out for them and welcome them when they arrive.
Happy Healing