this is a story about how my cat ran away from his home.

well, he did it.

gabe finally left the nest. he must've thought it was time for him to grow up. so that's just what he did.

i mostly tell myself all of this because i am too heart broken to think of the alternatives.

i had a dream that he came running into my arms a few nights ago, and i woke up teary eyed the next morning when i realized i had only been asleep.

when he wasn't whining at the door, scared to death of the rain and lightning last weekend, we all sort of gave up hope of ever finding him.

i felt a little piece of me missing when i came home and didn't find him sunning himself on the warm carpet--why is that? why are we, as humans, so attached to our animals? maybe it's because we give them human names.

like, gabe, for instance.

so.

gabe. 

if you're reading this, (which you probably are. because you're the smartest cat i know...) it has been the best 11 years of my whole life. 

thanks for letting me dress you up, lock you in rooms, and call you names that didn't belong to you.

i always found your popcorn fetish pretty weird, and i hated that time you brought me a dead mouse. but i forgive you now.

you were the best cat in the whole world, and i hope you're having adventures beyond the backyard, and eating like a king. 

thanks for growing up with me.