This month is was ten years that I have had the kittens. Ten years since I lost Patches and created a whole new family with three little furry creatures to help the big furry creature get back to her normal self. Ten years since I went from a normal-ish person to the crazy cat lady and back to relatively normal. So what did the last decade bring? Well …

• I lost Patches at 21 years old. That’s a long time to have a cat.
• I adopted the three kittens and brought them home.
• Bob and I started dating.
• I sold my house in Jersey.
• Bob and I bought a house.
• Jessie, the kittens and I moved to Florida.
• I found a temporary job.
• I found a permanent job.
• Bob and I got engaged and married (4 months – I can count that as one).
• I quit my job and found another job.
• I started grad school.
• We lost Jessie (I still miss that little girl).
• We adopted Arthas (he is awesome and I love him, but it was not an easy few months).
• We lost Gracie (just picture tears. Still).
• Leia and Arthas started getting along (thank heavens).

In these same ten years we have also visited five countries (or six if you count Scotland and England as separate countries and not as the “UK”), eight U.S. states, and multiple U.S. cities (I tried to count and just ended up forgetting some so … multiple). We have gone from eating almost everything to trying almost no grains to going mostly vegetarian. Friends and family have had children and we have seen them start school and develop personalities completely independent of their parents (probably the coolest part of interacting with other people’s children, but has to be scary as anything for the parents).

So yeah. Ten years ago this month four precious kitties found a home. (Erin also adopted a cat when I got the kittens, but she was sensible and stopped at one. And I have to admit, there was something about Rosie that everyone just had to love.) Two of them are gone, and the hole they left will be felt for a long time. But two remain, and they are still as lovable as ever. I don’t regret a second of it, but I am fairly certain I’m not adopting three cats at one time again.