The Thing We Haven't Talked About

Trey Smith

In the back of our minds, we know the clock is ticking for our 13 year old cat, Dylan. One of the painful choices we had to make for this move was that only 2 of our 3 animal companions could go with us. One had to be the odd man out and that one is Dylan. He would have made the cut IF he was not so psychotic (Jaz then would have been the one), but he is simply too destructive to take to a rental situation.

At some point in the next 3 - 6 weeks, we need to find him a new living situation. It probably won't be with a new family owing to his advanced age. It is more likely that we will be forced to take him to a no-kill shelter. How do you say goodbye to a 13 year old cat you've had since he was only 3 or 4 weeks old?

While we know that the day is coming soon that we must have a tearful goodbye, we haven't really talked about it all that much. We made this fateful decision weeks ago, but we haven't gotten around to talking about the particulars. Silly as it is, I think both Della and I have thought that, if we don't talk about it, maybe it won't happen. But it is going to happen sooner as opposed to later.

As long as there are belongings to cull through and cleaning to be done here in South Bend, Dylan will continue to have his home. That said, in about one month's time, I hopefully will be nearing the end of this arduous process. When the end is but a few days away, we will have to talk about this issue that we've been avoiding like the plague.

And so, I find myself in an odd situation. On the one hand, I can't wait to join Della in Ocean Shores so that our little family is intact once again. On the other hand, I don't want to be too quick in my culling and cleaning because that will mean that it's time for Dylan to go. I want to maintain his home in South Bend for as long as I can and yet I want to shift my home up north.

As you can see, I'm torn.

It's even worse for Della. She understandably wants me to finish my duties here as soon as I can so that I can join her in our new life as apartment dwellers, but she concurrently understands that the sooner I join her means the final parting with her baby, Dylan. So, she's really torn too.