The inevitable

Now is as good a time as any - and probably a bit late - to tell you some really lousy news we've been doing our best to cope with this week. On Wednesday morning, after one last, long, loving night with our amazing cat Omar, we had to take him in to be put to sleep.

We took a lot of pictures toward the end. This is Russell's absolute favorite.

We'd been preparing for this inevitability since September, when we first found out he had kidney failure, but never expected the end to come so soon. The vet's words at our appointment Tuesday afternoon were crushing. But in the following hours, Omar became so clearly ready for relief that the next step felt like our most important one yet in his care. Russell and I are doing really well now. But the apartment does seem so empty with him gone.

On the bright side, something else inevitable happened this week: the release of fall semester grades. It's my policy not to post them specifically here, but I'll say this: things went well. Really well. Ask me about it, and I'll be extremely happy to tell you.

It's only a small consolation, but the support and kindness of friends and family have been a big one. If this had to happen, I cannot possibly think of a more caring, solicitous group of people to have in my life at the time. Thanks everybody. And less depressing news next time, I promise.