In the spring of 2004, my friend Maria bought a light orange male tabby from a pet store in Brooklyn to give to her boyfriend Alex’s grandmother, in the hope it would make a Jewish grandmother like her grandson’s non-Jewish girlfriend.

The kitten was fearful upon arrival at grandma’s house and he hid. Grandma thought he was rude and didn’t want him. So, Maria took him home to her apartment, where she already had a menagerie of animals, including a psychotic wiener dog named Nathan.

Because Nathan went nuts with a new cat in the house, the kitten had to be kept in the bathroom with the door closed, for his own safety. Nathan proceeded to claw at the door to get at the cat, but he did so with such ferocity that he tore out all his claws.

With a blood-covered apartment and a kitten barricaded in their only bathroom, Maria knew she would not be able to keep the kitten. So she brought him to my house on poker night, figuring I wouldn’t be able to resist his very sweet personality and cute little kitten face, even though I already had two cats.

Well, I did resist, briefly. He needed a home.

I tried to give him to my friend Barbara who only had one cat but they didn’t get along. So he became mine. I named him Spike. (I’m a big Buffy fan!) I recognized that Spike came to me in a time of transition for a reason; this is one of the reasons I kept him.

Also, in the spring of 2004, I had been told that my team and I were being removed from the job we all loved for the past three years and being sent back to home base (which we didn’t love).

My fear and other peoples’ strong opinions about quitting my seventeen year tenured and pensioned job with full medical and dental benefits, kept me hesitating. But after they shipped my materials back to the home school and I went to check on them and my new office (a 5′ x7′ space, not even big enough to hold all my materials), I knew I was going to have to quit.

Soon after Spike came to live with me, I noticed he squinted and blinked a lot. I took him to a Veterinary Ophthalmologist. She diagnosed him with multiple eye condition, some chronic, and may require surgery. She gave me several prescriptions and we had to visit her twice a month.

The medications schedule began with four medications (2@2x/day, 1@3x/day and 1@4x/day) and over the next few months increased to 19 times a day, with a schedule of a minimum of two hours between administrations.

Now I knew that Spike came to me for the care I could provide; second reason.

The administration schedule was such that it could not be accomplished by anyone with a full time job. So, this was his first message! On August 24, 2004 I handed in my letter of resignation.

I started going to physical therapy in July for a torn meniscus that happened in the spring. The physical therapist became a very influential person in my life and he offered me a job. So I started working for him part-time in October.

While there, I got to participate in a Reiki healing sessions and be mentored by a real healer.

There were a few synchronicities while I was at the PT office, including meeting someone who would set me on the path to working as an independent contractor.

Spike’s chronic eye conditions went away in May of 2005 without needing surgery. The vet wrote on the chart “healed!!” She had never seen these conditions clear up.

From this moment on, I knew Spike was my messenger. So anytime he exhibited any type of physical distress, I would try to interpret them as a message for me.

Once it was one eye squinting, so I thought “What am I not seeing clearly?”  Another time he looked like he was having a neurological event because he was weaving instead of walking, which I interpreted as “What is not in balance in my life?”

After each interpretation, his ‘condition’ would be gone,

I moved down to North Carolina to be closer to my parents on March 1, 2007.

On June 11, 2011, I was having a 50th Anniversary party for my parents with some surprise guests from out of state. A few months earlier, my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and my brother moved here (and in with me) to be close to our dad.

He wanted to bring his cat Tazzy here, but the idea of four was too much and I denied his request.

I saw Spike for the last time on June 17, 2011. He didn’t come again. I don’t know if he left to make room for Tazzy to come, if he had other work to do for someone else, or if he left this plane because his mission was completed. Wherever he is, I am sure he is doing Divine work.

All I know is that he made a difference in my life and “opened my eyes” to the fact that messengers can come in any form. I will always be grateful to him and for his sacrifices for my lessons.

(Tazzy came to live here in September and he is a sweetie.) HPIM1255.JPG

 

May you perceive and receive all your blessings.

With Much Love,

Rev. Michele

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