Guest Blogger: Allyson Loper

Here is a blog post from Allyson Loper: and it’s about cats! Bonus!

Hope is Essential

Approximately May 1st, 2018, Hope was born. I didn’t witness a birth so to speak though. It is defined as “Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.” I think hope is all around us, we just do not see it through the correct lenses.
In late June of 2018, I was at my workplace when a flashback of 2003 came. It was Christmas Day and it was snowing which isn’t likely here anymore. It was snowing enough that the fields were covered and just pokes of corn stalks broke through the snow in the fields. The roads had not been plowed. My dad and I were driving to my grandparents house for lunch and presents. They only lived 4 miles down the road. 3 turns total. On the second turn the road is sloped at quite an angle that you turned left and went up at an incline and there was a larger culvert across the road for rain to pass through. I caught a glimpse just to my left and saw something I thought was black and white. I wasn’t sure. Off to grandma’s house we went where my mom and sister were already there helping with the food prep and festivities. I walked in the side door and I asked my mom if she saw anything at this particular turn. She said no, but my sister said yes. She had saw two little kittens there…Friday. It was Monday. With quick and sharp eyes I looked at my mom and all she said was “go get them.” My dad and I travelled 2 miles back for me to find 2 little black and white kittens in the culvert. They had been dropped. One came right to me. The other, however, decided I was going to do a version of dumpster diving in a culvert as it was just scared. We took them back home, gave them food, turned on the heater and gave them a little blanket and a litter box and back to grandma’s house we went. Those 2 black and white kittens were my first teachers of unconditional love. I know that my family has unconditional love for me, but with a child-like mind, your love can be conditional at times. They were the first cats we had when I got married in 2005. Jasper and Clyde would experience our “firsts” with us. Moving out of college. Moving into a rental house after we were first married. Moving into the house we are in now. Celebrating our first Christmas married together. So many “firsts”. I could sit in my recliner all day on a Sunday and knit and Clyde would be right there with me sleeping on my lap. He snored. My husband’s Sunday after church nap brought Jasper up to his chest for a nap and Caleb would often wake to a large spot of drool on his shirt from Jasper. Jasper and Clyde experienced new dogs into the family and a new outside kitty that they never were quite sure of. We would have Jasper and Clyde in our lives for 14 years. They passed away within 2 months of each other. Our 2 dogs passed away within 3 months of each other just 9 months prior. It was so quiet in the house. I know for some people feeling grief over an animal seems ridiculous, but deep in grief is where we sat. You keep pushing along. Sometimes that smile on my face was so fake, I think I nearly perfected it. Clyde passed away in January of 2018, Jasper followed in March. Spring passed on. It was late June I got a call from a colleague at work who said they found a kitten in the ditch at our workplace. She had to many and could not take, could I? I looked at Caleb and all he said was “I told you they would find us”. I went and picked up this teeny tiny kitten. It was black and white. Sound familiar? I didn’t know if it was a boy or girl, what color, I simply said yes. I made an appointment at the vet to have this kitten looked at. With two people with college degree’s and multiple behind the tail inspections, we could not figure if it was a boy or a girl. The day of the appointment I told Caleb that once we knew, this kitten was going to walk out of that office with a name. So, we actually agreed on a boy and a girl name which is huge for us because after a combined 1000 names we couldn’t agree on our beagle and she was forever known as porch dog (PD). Caleb tried to convince me that porch kitty could work too (PK!)…umm no. It was a girl. She was under weight for her age just weighing 13 oz at 6 weeks old but perfect in any other way. It had been 14 years since we had a kitten in the house and she lit our world. A world that we didn’t know at the time needed light. This kitten has reminded me of that unconditional love. She looks to us to keep her healthy and happy. No matter what, that little kitten just kept coming back to be held and snuggled just a little longer. She is now 2 ½ and 12lbs and is definitely in her toddler years as I call it. Still getting into trouble, but at a moments notice wants to climb up and have bath time and a nap with you. Just one more snuggle. A rescue who rescued us.
Her name is Hope. And Hope is essential to all of us.