Happy Holidays, with Tears

It is 3am on a Sunday morning and I am opening my mail for the week. The last three pieces I opened collectively have me in tears.

The first was from a woman on the west coast who is severely disabled and loves her diabetic cat deeply, and DCIN pays for her cat’s insulin and sends her test strips. This woman is deeply religious (but doesn’t proselytize) and despite her low-income situation, she tithes to her church and charities. Every couple months she sends DCIN a small check with a card that updates me on their status. I smile with the very personal messages I receive, but I always feel badly about her sending a check when I know she needs the funds for herself. However, those checks serve her mission in life so I cash them.

The second was from a woman in the desert Southwest who also is severely disabled, basically housebound. DCIN also helps her beloved diabetic cat with insulin and test strips, although her disability makes testing difficult. She sends DCIN a $5 check every month for the help. In the note with the check she told me she no longer has Internet access so I will have to call her this week, which always is a pleasant conversation for me. She is a lovely woman who doesn’t dwell on the challenges life has brought her. I made a personal donation to her cat’s account so that she won’t have to write those checks for a couple of years.

Then, finally, I opened a letter with a $500 annual donation from a woman in the Eastern south. That opened the floodgates and the tears started flowing. I knew a check was coming, but her generosity is overwhelming, especially with my emotions on my sleeve from the two letters I had just opened.

In this holiday season, I sincerely thank those who foster and adopt diabetic cats, those who hold their diabetic cats dear with joy and love even though doing so presents challenges, sometimes enormous challenges, and those who donate to help others they don’t know continue to hold their beloved diabetic cats dear.

~Venita