[nhplowboi]

My mom, rest her soul, was a wonderfully kind woman and devout Catholic. It was not unusual for her to care for or take in a stray cat every now and then. This trait did not escape one of her friends who made a wooden cat cutout that said "Irene's House of Cats" (and geeze she only had 2). In 1996, my mom suffered a terrible stroke following an endarterectomy and when all was said and done she was basically left a quadriplegic with little ability to speak. She lived that life until 2007 when she passed. On the day of her funeral we arrived at the church she had attended all her life. As we exited the limo, what awaited us on the church steps was a kitten playing. The casket was brought into the church and the kitten followed us in. That kitten played under the casket for most of the mass, until an usher took it away. Now I have been to many a funeral before and since and have never seen a kitten in attendance. There was no escaping the message, to anyone that knew my mother, that I am free of my earthly bonds and please know I am OK.