by Larissa Branin
It's hard to enumerate what I'll miss about Spencer. But I'll list those many endearing qualities that I still can't fathom no longer being a daily witness to:
*The way he sat in the driveway, waiting for me to come home every night.
*The way he'd run down the Valiant when I'd stop to get mail, and then how he'd jump into the car for a ride up the hill.
*The way he followed me EVERYWHERE (once, he followed me into a nearby supermarket and let out a big yowl when I tried to dodge him out of embarassment)
*The way he slept with me every night, under the covers with his head on my pillow - mashed up against my face
*The way I couldn't get mad at him, even when I'd wake up later to find he took up my entire pillow, curled up like a shrimp
*The way he'd always ride on my lap in the RV on vacations, collapsing heavily against my chest whiile I held him with both arms. And how he'd look up at me with his green "love eyes", head pressed up against my neck
*The way he'd always run ahead of me when I came home, up the porch stairs to jump onto the limbs of a nearby Eucalyptus tree.
*The way he'd always, ALWAYS do a full spin before I put food into his bowl
*The way he'd yowl when I was out of sight during our many, many hikes
*The way his purr motor was broke (he had a more wheezy effect)
*The way he'd only drink water from a glass in the sink only after I'd diluted it with rice milk
*The way he cleaned all our plates - we called him the Dishwasher
*The way he'd sit in the bedroom window
*The way he'd sit crooked, body all contorted after pausing during a bath
*The way he'd respond when I'd call him by his various pet names - Spencil, Sug-AH, Twinkletoes, Silly, Little Lord Flaunteroy Spencer-bone, Diamond-head, Seagul-head and most of all, hearing my husband exclaim with delight, "he's just a little beau!"
*The way he'd wrestle with PeeWee
*The way he'd always manage to get in the way, no matter what you happened to be doing
*The way he'd butt my head when I tried to read, write or work on the computer
*The way he'd stretch out at my feet, practically taking up the entire room
*They way he'd hiss and holler at the Vet - causing them to put big gloves on
*The big thump he'd make when he'd jump inside the house from the kitty window
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How I miss that last entry most of all right now. Keep listening for it. There are so many more qualities I didn't even get to - there's just so much. My only comfort is knowing how much joy Spencer brought us those eight years we shared with him and that such a bond of love between human and feline is possible.