I planned a different tale this week, but I would like to keep my cat, Cino, as the center of my focus right now. This past week has been a very hard one. If you read my last post, Sunday Pause (Paws): Prayers for Cino, you know what is going on. If you haven’t, please do. So this Tuesday’s Tale is about Cino & I, when we met and what is going on now.

It has been a while since I have written a poem. I write them occasionally, mostly for family & friends. I have had so many emotions running through me this past week, a poem just felt appropriate.  So here goes…

JUST BREATHE

A roller coaster of emotions
Thoughts twirling all around
Caught up in worry
Feeling like I’m going to drown

Then I feel a touch on my shoulder
And it brings me to my knees
I hear God saying to me
Stop!…and “just breathe”

Feeling alone with my concerns
For my cat I am trying to be strong
Thinking “Who will be there for me?”
When I hear “Alone. Not you. You’re wrong.”

Jesus whispering in my ear
I know my love is hard to conceive
But I am here with you
So Stop!…and “just breathe”

Dreading the appointment
Time seems to be standing still
Fearful of the results
Fretting & worrying, I’ve had my fill

Wanting to run away from it all
But I stop before I leave
I inhale a deep breath
and say out loud…“just breathe”

This poem truly expresses what I have been going through this past week. Those two words “just breathe” have been holding me together. If you understand the love someone can have for their pet, then you probably understand how I feel. Cino is my best friend and she’s only ten years young. If you have never read the tale of Cino & I, here is the link to a past Tuesday Tale: How We Met.

For anyone going through their own difficult time, whether it be over a pet or something else, may this song be a comfort to you as it has been for me. Life certainly can be crazy and it is times like I am going through that make us stop and think about what is truly important.