Thanks so much for all the sweet comments and emails about Maggie. We are still very sad. More than anything, I didn't anticipate how difficult watching her die would be. It was extraordinarily peaceful and couldn't have been easier for her but I simply had no idea how difficult it would be for me to see her put her head down between her paws and take her last breath. I've had nightmares ever since and I'm just kind of shocked at how much it has affected me.
I know that time will help, too. Right now, I still see her coming around the corner 10x/day or I think I hear her bell in the mornings. And that will get better, I know. The constant reminders will start to fade and life without her will seem a bit more normal, as surreal as that feels like right now. Tom and I got her just a year after we were married so she has been a huge part of our family since before we had kids. She was our first "baby" and we've really never been without her. We even took her on all of our vacations until we had kids. LOL!
What's funny is that many people didn't even know we had a cat. She was shy and quiet and didn't like new people so she would hide on someone's bed the entire time we had visitors. But, when it was just us, she was either on our laps or very close by. She took turns sleeping on the kids' beds and it's been very strange for all of us to put the kids to bed without her.
We will miss her forever and she will always be with us.
And just to quickly address this issue: we've gotten a lot of "but she was JUST a cat" comments (and one email) this week and some confused looks, too, when we express our sadness. To that, I really can't respond. Because the people who make those comments aren't going to understand, no matter how much I try to explain. Until you've had the love and constant companionship of a furry friend for 16 years, there's just no way to explain. So, I don't. I smile a little and change the subject. And we move on. It doesn't change how much she meant to us.