Rest in Peace Lonestar

When I arrived in Texas in late December of 1999, I didn't know anyone. I slowly met friends and adapted to a new place. I was lucky to come across a very special kitty one day in May of 2001. He became my best friend during a lot of wonderful and not so wonderful times. When I first layed eyes on him, I knew he would be mine. He fit in the palm of my hand. It wasn't the right time for a kitty, but he was such a beautiful red and had the fluffiest long hair and bright blue (later gold) eyes. I loved him from day one.

I brought him home to my apartment and we became great friends. He would sleep on my neck under my chin for hours and we would play. He could fetch (when he wanted to) and he used to jump from the floor to my shoulder and sit up there like a bird. He eventually became too big for that though. He wasn't hard to litter train but he was so picky about the pan. I literally bought 4 litter pans in his lifetime before I finally went to a big rubbermaid container which was perfect. One day he pulled the keys off my laptop and ate an entire plant.

I cried the first time I dropped him off at the vets to be boarded while I went to Australia. His little face was full of worry as he didn't understand that I would be back. The vet techs loved how playful and friendly he was and always gave him a big cage.

Lonestar grew to be a large handsome cat, and he had tons of hair. I never had an issue clipping his nails or doing anything with him. He even flew home with me for Christmas one year. We trusted each other totally.

He was a somewhat of a biter early on. He was not mean or vicious, he just liked to play hard and when you are 17-18 pounds, you tend to get a little rough. We adopted Alamo so that he could bite her instead of us. It worked like a charm. I remember bringing Alamo home for the first time. She was sick so we had to isolate her for 2 weeks. It was a great opportunity for them to get used to each other through a door. Sean and I prepared ourselves for the first meeting. I put on gloves in case I had to break up a cat fight and Sean was in charge of getting a small Alamo out of the brawl if needed. We opened the door and Alamo ran right up to Lonestar. Lonestar was shocked and just backed up. He never hurt her at all. They sometimes played a little rough and we intervened until Alamo grew a little bigger, but they were fast friends.

Lonestar was a lap kitty. He liked to be held and loved to be scratched on the cheeks. He didn't even mind the occasional belly rub. He loved to be brushed and he loved visitors. He would crawl into anyone's lap for some attention. He was king of the cat tree and liked to sit on the kitchen table and read with Sean.

In the end Lonestar's liver starting failing because he stopped eating food that he didn't care for. Unfortunately, it wasn't obvious until he became very lethargic. During a procedure to get food into his stomach he aspirated and came down with pneumonia and never recovered. He spent 10 days at the vet being force fed baby food. Finally, his little heart couldn't take any more and he passed away.

He was buried in Madonna, Maryland next to his cousin. He was a wonderful kitty and I will miss him for a very long time. He was named for the beer, the band and the state. Lonestar was 8 years old and I hope he is having a relaxing time in kitty heaven.

I am so sorry that he is gone from my life so soon.

In memory of Lonestar

~March 24, 2001 - July 16, 2009

What I have learned....

1. Those that say Back is Best don't really actually have children. Diana hates to sleep on her back and much prefers tummy or side. It may not be "safe" but there is little you can do when she can turn herself.
2. Do the people who support the Cry it Out method for very young babies have kids? It's definitely harder than one might think. We are not trying this method.
3. Everyone has a strong opinion about Huggies vs Pampers. I started with Pampers and started experiencing daily blow outs. I am using Huggies now, but will use both. I think Diana might have just needed the bigger size and I don't think Pampers are bad. It's been better since I gave up dairy. You never hear much about Luvs.
4. The books do not tell you how to maneuver a stroller with baby and a cat carrier into the vets office.
5. Breast feeding is hard.
6. Breast feeding was achievable after some time, persistence and patience.
7. Bottle feeding is even harder after achieving breast feeding. (Can I catch a break?)
8. 12 weeks flies by!
9. I can cope with less sleep than I ever expected.
10. Strangers are more willing to help a pregnant lady than a mother who is schlepping a stroller with baby, a diaper bag, a purse and opening a door.
11. Motherhood is an awesome responsibility.
12. Little girls have the cutest clothes.
13. Watching a baby learn and slowly begin to like initially disliked activities (riding in the car, baths etc) is really wonderful.
14. Babies really grow fast and when your baby is 10 weeks old and you see a 4 week old baby, your heart melts at how little they once were.
15. Although a baby in the womb who ate pizza religiously for months may actually hate it later, and that goes for all dairy.
16. Baby gas is a terrible thing.
17. They say to nap when the baby naps, but in reality isn't that time to do all of the chores, emails, phone calls etc that needs to be done?
18. Time, patience and persistence really are important factors in raising a child.
19. When a potential nanny says that she has 'raised' 25 children including her own during an interview... well you just shouldn't say that. I believe 'cared for' is the term she wanted to use.
20. Now I know why there are so many varieties of formula on the market. You really have to try different things. I think our winner (after two trials -thanks for the free samples in the mail!) is the Enfamil Gentlease. At least I think that is the winner, still too early to tell.
21. There are a lot of bottles on the market. After trying 3, I learned that Diana may like Dr. Brown's the best.
22. There are too many pacifiers on the market. I don't think Diana likes any of them and frankly that is fine. I am not buying any more to test.
23. The Graco swing (fits with the car seat) was not a good purchase. It's noisy and too low and Diana doesn't like it. I don't think she wants to sit in the car seat.
24. Driving with a baby in the car is a new experience. A terrifying experience actually. If you are going to rear-end me, you better have insurance and you better be ready for a guilt trip. For your sake, I hope the baby isn't in the car.
25. The CRV wasn't the best choice after all.
26. Sending women back to work after 12 weeks is just wrong. At three months babies are developing their adorable personalities and just starting to follow (sort of) a schedule. It's not fair to miss spending the day with them.
27. New Grandparents are a total different breed of people. Who are these people and what happened to our parents?
28. Babies don't wear dresses. It's impossible to keep them down and hard to change diapers.
29. Spit up doesn't really smell good.
30. People who co-sleep aren't weird parents. It's a really wonderful experience and hopefully can be done safely.
31. When your baby starts to sleep in the crib all by herself, that is also a wonderful experience.
32. When a baby comes into your life, other things really do get neglected (pets, chores, friends)
33. With any luck, the pets, chores, friends will forgive you. Especially the pets since they need love too.
34. It takes about 9-10 weeks before you feel really comfortable taking the baby out on your own.
35. Maternity leave isn't as much fun as expected since all of you friends still have to work and the baby doesn't really want to be out all day. Plus you can only spend so much money at the mall and online.
36. You won't really have time to visit the pool every day on maternity leave (who knew?). I've been there twice.
37. The worst sound in the world is your baby crying.
38. Holding the baby and walking around until she falls asleep can really be exhausting.
39. Babies can belch and expel guess louder than most of the men I know. Thankfully it is so cute when it happens. (this applies to the babies, not the men.)
40. Babies are hard to hold in the tub.
41. I know where all of the elevators are at the mall.
42. I also learned I desperately need a massage. Carrying the car seat around and folding up the stroller and lifting it are killing my back and neck.
43. Cluster feeding is exhausting and it's impossible to fully prepare for a growth spurt.
44. I learned that there was a lot I did know and I learn something new every day.
45. I learned that Motherhood is the coolest thing ever, and Fatherhood is a close second.