For Clementine

I’ve had to say goodbye to my sweet girl, and while I’m still at a point where I cry every day (thanks largely in part to the algorithms that have figured out what happened and are feeding me nothing but pet loss content), I am so grateful for the 18 years she lived. Even more grateful that I was lucky enough to find her. That I chose that particular shelter in east Cleveland years ago.

Cleveland was an interesting phase of life for me. It was my first real job after graduate school, my first big foray into professional life….but also just life. I didn’t know anyone in Cleveland, and sure, it’s a bit rough around the edges, but I managed to be successful there. I made friends there. I first fell in love there. I tried on a few different professional hats there. It’s interesting to think back, because as much as I loved Cleveland, there were definitely some disappointments—some big ones. After a couple of jobs I wanted to move into fell through, after I’d lost the man I assumed I’d marry, I remember wondering why I had even come to Cleveland in the first place. What had been the point, if nothing was going to work out?

Many things did work out, of course. Notably the way I set up a career pivot, and the many wonderful friends to come from those years. But I’ve realized that the best thing to come out of my time in Cleveland was Clementine. Had I gained nothing else from my time there, it would have been worth it. She would have been worth it. I’ll spend the rest of my life grateful for the small striped cat who will always be my best girl. I’ll spend the rest of my life missing her, too, and hoping if such a reunion is possible that she’s waiting for me when I get there. RIP Clementine, 2008-2026.