Guardian Angels
Maelstrom Labelas Enoreth of Chinua
29 July, 2005 - 24 March,
2006
"The Chronicles of Nori"
The Search, The Discovery and The Adventure
(click on the link above to read the first part of Nori's story)
Sweet Nori boy...
The Final Chapter
July 29, 2006
“The thread of life is
broken…the bonds of love last forever.”
Dad 1969
Today would have been Nori’s 1st birthday and I can only hope
that I will be able to find the right words as a fitting tribute to this
spectacular boy.
When I first saw Nori he
took my breath away and my heart stuttered. A lifelong bond was
formed in that very instant. This would be the first Chinua sire
and he would be fantastic! Nori and the girls will have the
kittens of my dreams and they will bring joy to so many lives as our
other kittens have done.
The
ripple effect continues...
As I have learned in
life you need to always look for the life lessons God sends us and learn
from them when either good or bad things happen. Be grateful for
the good things, but still learn from them…appreciate them…embrace
them…find joy in them! I wholeheartedly embraced my good fortune
for having such a wonderful boy in our home. Nori was everything I
could have ever wished for. He was sweet, loving, playful,
intelligent, and stunningly handsome…and he found joy in each and every
day. He had no enemies, everyone and everything loved him.
Kate tells me that he was all that from birth. We both agree that
he was a very special boy. So special that he taught me more
lessons in his short 5 months time with us than anything else in life.
I’d like to share with you some of what Nori taught us…
He taught us to find joy
even on the darkest days…
It’s always better to
make friends rather than enemies…
Share love often…hugs
and kind words heal…
Always look for the
sunshine…it’s a great place to nap!
Give snuggles
willingly…be persistent if necessary!
Purr often and loudly…or
in our case, always speak from your heart!
Ask for what you want
and surprisingly you may just get what you ask for!
Always be willing to
learn new things and new ways…
Let life take your
breath away…EVERY day!
Friends and loved ones
are a call away or an email away or a hug away…
Try new things bravely…
Listen with your whole
heart and not just your ears…
Life is too short…play
hard!
Send in the 2nd
team if you can’t be there to help a friend or loved one…
but always let
them know you care…
When Nori first became
ill it was over a weekend and I emailed the Chinua family along with my
God given family asking them to say prayers for our little guy. I
hated leaving him at the vet clinic all weekend, but I did what the vet
thought was best for Nori. I never once thought that he wouldn’t
be coming home well and ready to take life on full force. My faith
was strong as were the prayers of many, many friends and loved ones.
Through the emails to and from these wonderful people we made it through
a week of tests and no answers we could live with. Nori fought
valiantly against a disease that knows no rules other than to take no
prisoners. His strength and spirit was amazing. Everyone at
the vet’s office fell under his spell and I fell even more in love with
this amazing boy, which I didn’t think was possible! But the
miracle we all prayed for did not come to pass. We took him home
Thursday night so that he could be in comfortable surroundings and be
near his family. We set up ‘camp’ in the guest bedroom…a place he
loved to explore with its high canopy bed and fun nooks and crannies.
He was glad to be home and away from the noise and commotion at the
vet’s office along with the stainless steel cage he’d been in all week.
As soon as I let him out of his carrier he trotted over to his
scratching post and gave it a good tug…that lifted my heart! Then
he went to rest in his favorite tent and was very happy to be home.
By 3:00 am Friday
morning, normally his favorite time to snuggle with me, it became a very
apparent that he was in too much pain, but still fighting. We
would have to make the hard decision to release him from his pain. A
decision that I didn’t want to have to make. While I don’t want to
write this part of Nori’s story I feel it is very important because it
may help you ease your beloved pet’s pain when his or her time has come.
The decision to end a life should never be taken lightly, but also
should not be one that you linger over either if all hope is gone.
You must think of your beloved animal and their pain, not yours. I
knew that Nori was not going to get better and I could not stand to see
him suffer any longer, even though I wanted to spend MUCH more time with
him. We took him back to the vet on Friday, March 24th,
5 days short of his 8-month birthday to say good-bye and give him
release from his horrendous pain. I pray that I never have to make that
decision again but if faced with making that decision again, I will find
the strength…for our animal’s sake.
The vet who worked so
hard to save Nori said something so very profound that I need to share
that with you too. She said very simply that we are not ‘taught’
how to grieve. We each grieve in our own way and sometimes it’s
hard to understand when someone grieves differently than we do.
Maybe one step we all need to take when we’re grieving is the hardest
one to take…and that is a step closer to your loved ones not further
away. Please do not bury your grief…fully feel it and be blessed
that you had this animal in your life for however long. I know
that I for one have always withdrawn and that is the worst thing I can
do. Nori helped me with this lesson too. Not that I want any
more practice any time soon though!
This next part is from
an email that I sent to our Chinua family and friends when we laid Nori
to rest…trying to use each and every one of the lessons sweet Nori
taught me…
April 1, 2006
Hello dearest loved
ones...
The morning dawned
bright and clear and quickly warmed up to be a beautiful day.
Sunny today with rain tomorrow...the promises of spring. The
daffodils at the end of the garden just started blooming this week with
more opening each day. All were facing east with the rising of the
morning sun. The forsythia is just yellowing up to be brilliant show of
sunshiny yellow within a week. The birds are happily chirping,
courting and building the nests their upcoming families will be hatched
in. If ever a day was perfect for what we had to do, this was the
day.
We laid Nori to rest
this morning with spring happening all around us. Yes, putting
that box in the ground was hard but we know he is out of pain and giving
us many indications of watching over us. He is in a lovely spot
that will only become more beautiful with all our plans for the
garden. We will truly build a sanctuary of peaceful beauty befitting the
3 little souls who are buried there and a comfort for us and all who
come to visit. It's hard for me to grasp just how many people's
lives Nori touched in his short time on earth. I couldn’t begin to
count them!
I've asked Richard to
build a trellised arbor big enough for a swing instead of a bench as I
find comfort in swinging. We had a wonderful old fashioned glider
when we were kids that I remember enjoying. This may well be a
lifetime project...adding, changing, etc to find what works best in the
new garden there. We have heavy clay to work with so we will be
replacing some of the soil so whatever we plant will flourish. For
those of you who haven't visited us yet we have about an 1 1/2 acres in
town. We have a big back yard with a veggie garden and a lovely
creek that meanders between the back yard and the 'way back' yard.
The furthest back part of the yard is gently sloped and that is where
the garden will be.
I've shared with you
many of the little ways Nori has let me know he's watching over us.
I feel his presence strongly today. Sweet sunny Lucy has jumped up
on my lap several times while typing this for loves...purring in her
loud rumbly purr trying in her own way to help heal the pain of Nori’s
loss ...my lap was a place that was Nori's favorite spot if I was at the
computer... a place Lucy never wanted to be since she was an adventurous
kitten. Things happen for a reason...Lucy wasn't supposed to stay but
when trying to decide on who would be our 2nd girl I couldn't choose
between Maureen and Lucy. I couldn't love Lucy more and had been
thinking that she might be happier in a 1 or 2 cat home and maybe if she
picked one of the kittens as her favorite, which she has done with past
litters...she would go home with that kitten. Nori has shown me
very clearly why she's still here. I needed her. I will always believe
that Nori and Lucy communicated in some way and he asked her to 'stand
in' for him...for Lucy loves to play and sleep up high, why else would
she choose to lay in my lap, plop on my feet in the kitchen with her
funny Lucy talk and always be close by... she is doing his work now in
her own Lucy way.
These past weeks have
been a journey of love and heartbreaking sorrow. I can't begin to
imagine what would have happened without each one of your support.
First I believe that Nori and I wouldn't have had the last week together
without all your loving prayers. Thank you with all my heart for that.
Each day was a gift. No a treasure! AND I don't think that I would
be sane either. Only true animal lovers like you understand that
Nori was like my own child and how devastating his loss has been.
I can't begin to find the words to thank you for your comfort and your
continued support. Priceless is the best word that comes to mind.
I can only hope that those of you who already have one or two of our
Chinua babies that you have found comfort in their love during all this.
Thank you with all my
heart dear friends and loved ones...thanks doesn't seem enough, but
that's all I have. I'm off to work in the gardens to enjoy this
day and feel closer to Nori. Remember to find some joy today...
Wishing you peace in
your hearts today and always...
Much love and big
hugs,
Annie
~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~
What
words can I possibly write to finish this sweet boy’s story? A life that
ended way too soon? One where each day was a treasure? None come
to mind other than…
From
this day forward find joy in each and every day
and
feel blessed by all that’s around you!
Rest in peace my sweet Nori. I will see you again
someday…
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