Today I say goodbye to my oldest friend.

Dear Ginger,

I love you. I miss you.

On Christmas day, 1991, you came to me as a pet. An adorable little orange fur-ball, brought into my life so that I could have someone to play with, to take care of, to teach me some responsibility.

You became so much more than that.

I'm finding it hard to seek comfort now that you're gone, and not just because I'm so far from home. If ever I had a bad day, a fight with a friend, or if the worst happened and I lost someone close to me, you were always there to give me a cuddle. Stroking your soft coat and hearing your soothing purr as you lay placidly in my arms always helped to make the hurt go away. How do you find comfort after a loss when it's the one whose always comforted you that's gone?

I think I'll miss your little pink nose the most. Along with your big hazel eyes, it was always your best means of communication. With a cool wet nudge you were always able to let me know when you needed me, or that you were there when I needed you. Whether you were seeking your trademark foot-scratch, or looking to get me out of bed on a Saturday morning, it was that little nose that did the talking.

I'll also miss your fluffy coat, even when it seemed to shed all over everything I own. I'm sure that for years to come I'll find little bits of it attached to clothes, blankets, and embedded in furniture. Something that was once a supreme annoyance has now become a treasure, each golden piece more precious than the last.

I'll miss so many more things about you, not all of which I could name if I had a hundred years to do it. I'll miss the way you used to stretch out on my stomach whenever I lay down to watch a movie, and how your head fit perfectly in the curve of my neck. I'll miss the way you'd meow at the door every day of winter, wanting to see if the cold had passed. The door would open, and with a frustrated hiss and a flick of your paw you would retreat back inside, only to try again the next day.

I'll miss all the ways you were almost human. How you'd look both ways before crossing the street, or close your eyes and turn away when you knew I was having a laugh at your expense. You were a champ at making me laugh, always when I least expected it, and not once when you meant it. You were such an old soul, and often a cranky one. I'll miss that too.

You had a good life, my furry friend, and mine was made better by having you in it. I feel so lucky that the day Mum and Dad went to choose from the litter, you trotted up and demanded to be taken. It the end, it seems, you chose us.

After you passed, Adam wrote me something that rang true, and has provided me with some solace: that you took everything you could out of your nine lives, and were probably able to squeeze out another nine on top of them. I think you were just tired. You had lived your life, and it was simply time to go. I can accept that, though it doesn't make losing you any easier.

I won't try to pretend like we'll see each other again. That's not the way I think of the world, and I'm not the child I was when you first appeared in my life. Instead I'll look forward to the day when the tears stop falling, and I can look back with a smile at all the memories we've had, instead of all the ones I'll miss.

I love you, I miss you, and for all that you've given me, I thank you.

Forever and always,
Megan


Ginger "Boo" Harrison
Oct. 1991 - Mar. 2007