The Florida Gingersnaps are now all of six months old. They to the vet yesterday in tow with Annie, Ruby, and Ellipse. All they needed was a weighing and a nail trim. Beau (on top) is eight pounds while Luke (on bottom) is eight-and-a-half pounds. They still stalk and chase one another around the house and they both come up to me for rubs and attention. And when they’re resting they’re more likely than not to be resting together, just like they have from the time they were born.

I’m coming up on the one year anniversary of Max’s and Lucy’s passing. I’m more attuned than ever to the cats and the dogs it seems. And I’m more sensitive to the passing of time. Every second gone is a second never to be re-experienced, so make each one count. There’ll come a time when I’ll be bidding them goodbye for the last time to balance the moment when I first laid eyes on them in Gainesville back in October. It’s only with the dogs I’ve had such a complete life arch, and Ruby is the last. Annie came to live with us when she was four months; I saw Ruby for the first time while she was still in the whelping box, a week after she was born.

And then I think of both of my girls who have truly scattered from the home. Gainesville is not that far from Orlando, but Denver, now that’s a bit of a trek. I’m pleased to report that both girls call and text on a regular basis. I know they have their own lives, but I’m always flattered when they take out time to check up on their dad.

Back to the boys… I’ve never known of a cat, let alone two like these, that are as loving as the Gingersnaps. They remind me how all of them are such little miracles of life.