Friday, August 17, 2012

Friday, August 17

It has been nearly 24 hours that we lost Bravo. My heart has been so heavy today--so very sad. I have the joy of knowing we have made life happier for our cats here at the rescue center and I have the great sadness that comes when we lose one of these precious lives.

I have read parts of face book and have gotten thru some of my e-mail. Some things have brought on the tears again, some have made me smile at the songs and prayers and kind words. But, I am called to know in my heart, the gratefulness of the outpouring of care and love that has been shown. We will all indeed miss our Bravo. It makes me realize how much of a family community that we have. This is no longer "my" rescue center, but "our" rescue center. You are all a very important part of FFRC and what we do here. You are important to us, even in our every day functions.

We had Boxes night before last. I am grateful for every item received.
Tony/onebad1 & Nefertiti--handmade beautiful raxor handles for Steve and myself. These are a beautiful work of art.
TippyNtraylor & Ashley too--6 bags of bubble gum, 4 containers of Clorox wipes, kitty treats, Dwn liquid soap and cookies for the volunteers
Cathi B--5 cases of Appetizers
Kelly R--3 blankets for FFRC with the Catstock design
Stinkypeep--handmade cat nip toys, some with catnip, some without
Cantoncat--3 cases of ProPlan food (for Bondi and friends) & 2 cases of Friskies
Donna/Mkmouse--3 boxes of brown envelopes
Beth A--exercise ball for Derecho
Chris/dewitty--Appetizers, gravy Sensatins, Fancy Feast for ALL the cats (cause the deserve it!) and a large wonderful scratcher toy for the Covies
Patty V/Middiesmom--6 cases of Appetizers, 4 case of Purrfectly fish packets
Anonymous Friend--4 bags of Royal Canin baby kitten dry food.

We had TWO adoptions! Our sweet Tiki went to her new home today. Her new mama has the entire weekend to settle in with Tiki. I'm so happy for both of them. Yesterday afternoon, McLovin' went home with Amy, one of our volunteers. Amy now has 3 cats, 2 of which are from FFRC. Two awesome homes.

We are in our second week of our Be an Earth Angel. What an extraordinary fundraiser this has been. As of Thursday night, 8/16, our total was $16,586. I think this is wonderful and I'm so grateful. Tomorrow night will be the finale of this event. One of our volunteers has invited Steve & I over for a picnic, which starts at 6:00 pm. So...we would like to go to this, and delay BOXES till 7:00 or close to that time. Come join us tomorrow night, Saturday, for the last day of Be an Earth Angel. We will show the Grand Total amount collected. How exiciting!

Yes, Bravo is gone....but this Rescue Center will carry on. With loving something with your whole heart, comes the price of sadness when something tragic happens. I know our hearts always have room to love more and more. Our hearts are such, that the more we give, the more we have to share. It's a renewable resource! So, even though my heart feels like a giant ache, there's still love to give.

Remember how Bravo so loved life? He had so much fun enjoying every day to the fullest. Let's honor that, let's cherish that, and let's get on with tomorrow. We have a lot of cats and kittens here that need us and the love that we can give and there's more in our future to tend to.

Efrafa
Efrafa--one of the Fiver kitties