I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
Without ever having felt sorry for itself.
~D.H. Lawrence
I’ve been sick for almost a week and a half already. I’ve gone through fever, congestion, coughing, fatigue. Monday and Tuesday I spent my days off confined to either my bed or the couch. I have not been able to do much or go anywhere other than work and the doctor. In a sense, I have been a pathetic, useless bum. But despite all of that… despite the fact that I look horrible, despite my coughing attacks, despite my lack of energy, Kitty has stuck by me. No complaints. No whimpering. No jumping on me to wake up, get up, or get moving.
She is such a sweet quiet little soul. I am so thankful for her.
Wherever I decide to prop myself up, she nestles in right next to me and will not leave my side. She has refrained from asking me to play with her and even from letting me know she is hungry. I feel so bad because I have not taken her anywhere or practiced any of her commands for her class or even played with her all that much. Again, she doesn’t complain.
She looks at me with her caring little eyes and lets me know she is there, patiently waiting for me to get better. A couple of nights ago, when my coughing attacks got to her (because she sleeps right next to me), she quietly got up, walked to the foot of the bed, and snuggled up next to my feet. Then I felt her warm little tongue licking my heels and ankles, the way animals try to care for each other in their world. She was licking my wounds, so to speak. As tiny as she is, SHE was trying to care for ME.
“My little dog – a hearbeat at my feet.” ~Edith Wharton
Sad to say, in the middle of all of this, in the middle of HER worrying about ME, she has gotten sick again. I almost feel like maybe she caught it from me, or maybe her sadness at my inactivity has manifested itself as sickness. Either way, she is still there… waiting for ME to get better… never feeling feeling sorry for HERSELF, only showing loyalty and compassion for ME.
