The last best day

Monday, January 7th was the kids' first day back at school after more than two weeks off.  My plan was to come home and bring the cat back to bed with me for an hour or so before I started cleaning the kitchen.  At our other house, he used to come to bed with me every morning after Jason got up, but that had not happened since we moved, and also happened less after he got arthritis.  I think the stairs at the new house didn't help, but it is also a pretty big jump to the bed, especially for a cat who may have been having heart problems.  So sometimes I'd carry him up to bed after he stopped coming on his own.  Several times I had brought Niles to bed like that, but he'd usually only stay an hour or less.  But this Monday morning, he stayed with me until it was time to get Bryce from the bus stop at noon, almost three hours, and I am pretty sure he would have stayed a lot longer.  He laid right next to me while I read and napped.  Just before I had to get up, I started petting him again and he rolled over and stuck his feet in the air so I could pet his fluffy belly.  (My mom has always said Niles has the softest fur of any cat she's ever known, and I think she was right.  Bryce would pet him and say, "He is soft as silk."  It was hard to walk by him and not stop to pet him, I think.)  It was pretty much my ideal morning, especially after two weeks of semi-chaos with the kids home.  I really wished I could stay there petting him all day, but I finally got up.  I carried him back downstairs and got him his lunch and then went to get Bryce.

The next day, I volunteered at school all morning.  Wednesday I used my morning to work out.  Thursday I was back at school to volunteer, so no cat snuggling time.  And Friday was when Niles really slowed down, slept all day under a chair and I didn't bother him.  Saturday I brought him up to our bed again, and he slept there most of the day, but not close to me like he had on Monday.  He crawled under the comforter and slept there, and I remember watching it move up and down to check if he was still breathing.  Sunday he slept most of the day and ate very little.  Hayden took her blanket and a bag of books and laid down by him in his current favorite spot, the corner between the couch and end table.  Monday the 14th was the beginning of the end.  I keep going back to Monday the 7th, before we knew something was wrong, when Niles still seemed to be happy and healthy.  It was the last best day.