Home.

I took a late flight back from Iowa and by the time I got home from the airport, it was after 2:30 AM.

The temperature had dropped outside, but it was still warm inside the house, so the cats had tucked themselves into a couple of cool spots and didn't come to greet me at the door. I was a little disappointed not to see them first thing,  I had missed them so, so I put down my stuff and went looking for them.

Wylla was on her side, in front of a fan, and cooling her belly. When I said hello, she rolled over on her back, stretched her arms towards me,  splayed her toes,  and yawned big. Charlene came out from beneath the bed when she heard me greeting Wylla. Her tail was high and usual saunter was high-speed.

Normally, I get just a "oh, there you are" kind of hello after a trip, but I could tell those two were truly happy to see me. I scooped up Wylla, held her over my shoulder, and gave her some pets. In return I got some loud, rumbling purrs.  Bean, too, was as generous with her purrs when I picked her up for a hug.

It was nice to feel loved and missed.

Bean's been staying cool by hiding in the closet, but Wylla has been following me all day. Im enjoying having my adorable little shadow again.

 It is good to be home.

While I was back at my parent's, I was pretty focused on helping them with my dad's recovery and projects around the house, so I didn't have a lot of headspace to think about the fundraiser. I had almost forgotten about how awesome it always feels to see all of this support flowing in.  

I'm functioning on a couple of hours of sleep, a little exhausted, and a little punchy, so it doesn't take much to bring me to tears today. But I think even with a goodnight's sleep,  my eyes still would be welling up over you generous folks.

A five dollar donation, a five-hundred dollar donation, donations from Humane Society employees, volunteers, and foster families,  donations from outside our state and even Switzerland, donations in honor of loved and lost pets - all of this gets to me.

Thank you for this, beautiful community.