Here's Sam READING A BOOK instead of being on screens!
We watched The Maze Runner movies this spring and he liked them and read the books in between the movies. We already had the trilogy on our bookshelves; I had read it myself years ago. Like me, he enjoys dystopian fiction. I'm trying to get him to read The Hunger Games next because he liked those movies even more than The Maze Runner.
Ever since last fall, I've been working on de-cluttering my house in preparation for selling, moving, and downsizing. These are some of the things I went through and sold last month:
A music stand from when John started trombone in elementary school. It hadn't been used in years.
Maternity clothes! I kept a bin of my favorites and sold the rest.
They filled two bags!
My mom and I reassembled the boys' changing table and it cleaned up nicely. I had held on to it hoping to have another baby, but c'est la vie. It sold quickly. It was in really good shape for being over 18 years old!
The toddler bed, on the other hand, was a lost cause. It was such a cute bed, but we couldn't get it put back together successfully, and it wasn't worth the time or money trying to track down the correct allen wrench and screws, so it ended up going to one of my uncles for firewood. 😕
Reading again! He really does like reading; those dang screens just get in the way of it so much. I'm so glad that screens (in the form of smartphones and iPads and the like) didn't exist when I was his age.
An ice cream sundae on a Sunday evening...
I made sure to snap some pictures of Bentwood at the water bowl and around the house at the end of the month. I knew he didn't have a lot of time left--the vet had diagnosed him with advanced lymphoma a few weeks earlier--so I cherished his presence around the house more than usual and didn't take it for granted.
He passed away peacefully and naturally at home ten days ago on Easter. I held him in my arms several times that weekend as I sadly watched the life slowly ebb out of him as his body shut down. He was the sweetest cat. He was part of our family for 18 years. I still had my dog from high school when we got Bentwood. I miss his gentle, sweet, comforting presence in the house. It's not the same without him. I know I'll see him again and that he's in a good place, but I miss him and I mourn his loss. 🤍
