Honeymoons are designed to be sacred time away from the world as husband and wife start this new venture together.

We absolutely had sacred time. Our honeymoon also included family, hospice nurses, oxygen tubing, wheelchairs, spreadsheets, handwritten letters, and one man determined to finish being himself.

As a Grannie of boys, I learned that farts offer hours of endless entertainment.

One day the boys were taking turns photographing each other. I wasn't paying much attention until T looked at me with complete sincerity and asked,

"Grannie, do you want me to take a picture of your butt?"

Oh my Alby, you always did have game.

I’m thinking back over how we met and how we evolved into us.

The day I got a cat was the day everyone who knew me went into shock.

I had so many reasons not to want one, with allergies ranking high on the list. However, I had one friend who volunteered at Furkids and posted videos and pictures of sweet little critters on a weekly basis, if not more often.

And truth be told, my home had been broken into, leaving me feeling a bit alone and off-center. I thought the company, though not protective, might be comforting.

To tell this story properly, I need to start with a short backstory.

I became a wife and a widow two months apart.

Yes, it was awful. And because it happened so fast, we had not yet merged households. Clothes, toiletries, and basic necessities were accounted for, but not a lifetime of stuff a person has accumulated by that stage of life.

HiKath is real in the same way the Velveteen Rabbit became real—by being loved.

The story goes back to 1995 when I shared a home with my bestie, her husband, and their daughter Bethany, who had been born the year before.