@yuna_animatus
You mention that you want to write something that will give other people hope-- that's really admirable! I was wondering if there are any subjects close to your heart, or particular messages you'd like to spread with your writing?
Do you see any of your current projects as the one you hope will affect people?
Oh that's such a cute question, haha! I don't mind at all. :)
This was back when I was a little kid. One day my family drove out to the county fair-- made some sand art, did all the usual fair things. But there was an adoption van there from the local animal shelter. My mom saw us looking at it and said "Oh, no" but she finally agreed to let us take "one look" before we left the fair and, whoops, all of us, including my mom, fell utterly in love with this litter of black-and-white kittens. They were all symmetrical tuxedo cats except for this tiny, sneezy black kitten and a very fuzzy one with a funny face, and those are the two who captured our hearts and came home with us.
I named the funny-faced one Cookie immediately, because he looked like a chocolate chip cookie to me, and my mom named the black one Mickey. We had an old gray-and-white cat named Lucky at home who was very unhappy about suddenly becoming a babysitter, but he eventually grew to tolerate them. Lucky and Mickey have since passed on, but they lived long and happy lives. We only have Cookie now, but he'll be 19 next month, and he's still going strong. Here are pictures of them as babies (and one of baby Lucky too).
Cookie means the world to me, really. Unlike my other two cats who were very healthy until the end, Cookie we sort of joke is like a lemon of a car-- he's always had health problems all his life, and they've usually been mysterious or weird health problems, never anything simple. He's been to the vet so often that he's best friends with everyone there, but at least he's also the gentlest, mushiest cat I've ever seen, and will let the vets do anything to him. He's so docile he won't even put his teeth on you as a warning, the sort of cat who will decide anything fuzzy in the house is his new kitten to protect. Last year we thought we were going to lose him-- his kidneys were failing, and he was very ill-- but my aunt insisted they do one more test, just for peace of mind, and because of it the vets found what they needed to save him. I had to feed him pureed food through a tube in his neck for months before he got better, and now he's diabetic because of the medications he had to be on while he was ill, but he's back to his happy self and a fighter to be sure. I never really know how much time I'll have with him, but I hope it's a long time to come. He's such a weird, funny little character who brings so much light to our lives.
Thank you for the question, and I'm sorry you had to be separated from your grandmother's cat! Pets are so special.