True Heartbreak

On Sunday morning the neighbor called over to Lauren who was playing in the front yard to come and look at something. There it was..... the Kitten. A 3 or 4 week old little grey mew mew. Landon came running in the front door say "MOM MOM MOM look at what Sissy has!!!!!" The second she walked in to door my entire day flashed before my eyes. Oh no. What am I going to do. "It needs food mom. She is starving!! She has been out in the cold all night!" So I made a little saucer with milk and the neighbor donated a can of tuna. I don't really know if a cat that age should be eating cow's milk or tuna but there were no other options. So now what? Lauren was in love. She snuggled the kitty and sang to it and love it and rocked it to sleep and made a home for it in a box on the front porch. She would wrap it up in the bottom of her shirt to keep it from shivering. Church was going to start in 1 hour. What do I say to her? She was determined there must be a way we could take it with us. I convinced her that the neighbor who found it that morning could keep an eye out for her. Then off to church. Lauren was unable to concentrate on anything because the poor kitty was home alone with no mommy. It must have seemed like and eternity to a 7 year old. When we got home she had me stop the car at the neighbors so she could rush over and see if kitty was still there. It was. Oh Great! How is she going to part with this little nugget. I had put an ad for a free kitty on Craig's List earlier in the day hoping someone could pick up the cat that day. I am sorry to say I was not willing to sacrifice a nights sleep listening to a kitten mew and cry all night long in the garage or outside. I was not going to keep it inside because I didn't want to hear it and Landon is very allergic. I was also not willing to have my sweet daughter cry herself to sleep because we ditched a baby kitty into an alley way to fend for itself in the cold for the night. I heard every argument imaginable on how and why we were going to keep this kitty all day and all night. My ears were going into numb, tune out Lauren mode. Since we are not allowed to have pets here, Lauren said that she would give me all her money she had saved, roughly $100, so we could moving into a house tomorrow. She was desperate. When Tim got home from his overnight in Boise with Matt Brady(another story), we discussed the kitty problem. I was nervous to think that Tim may be sorely insensitive to Laurens dilemma and throw the cat over the fence and walk away but I was pleased to find that they went for a walk and found a neighbor (a crazy cat lady) who thinks it may have been one of her cats babies, but who can keep track at that point, right? So I was in the kitchen and as the sobbing of a small child got closer I wiped my hands and sat down for a good long hug/cry it out fest with my heartbroken daughter. She could not even talk between the crying breaths and sobs. Fortunately for me the whole thing worked out perfect. We have no kitten and the neighbor said please come to visit the kitty anytime you want. Lauren still refers to the kitten as hers and was up first thing this morning ready to go over for a visit. What a long long happy happy then sad sad day.