Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day

We're sure most or all of you already know that today is Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, initiated by Deborah Barnes of Zee & Zoey in 2015.

On days like today, I do my best to not dwell on the sadness of having lost furry, feathered, and other friends who have gained their angel wings. Rather, I try to focus on the wonderful memories all of my angels have gifted me throughout the years. I am lucky to have shared my entire life with furry and even feathered friends, and so the memories are many.

That there is, indeed, just a snapshot from a memory with my angels Rosie and Sammy. That photo shows my sister with Rosie and myself with Sammy. These two litter mate kitties were always the best reading buddies for my sister and myself.

Our longtime blog friends will very likely remember Rosie. She was still with me when I started this blog a few years ago. My family adopted Rosie and her brother Sammy when I was 4 years old, and Rosie was by my side until I was 26 years old. Rosie's brother Sammy also played a significant role in my life, even in his, sadly, short 5 years of life.

As a child, I loved to read. I loved to be with my kitties. Put those two facts together, and you'll get that I loved to read with my kitties. I remember feeling nothing but peace when with my Sammy and Rosie.

I just now quite randomly realized how strange it is that I didn't even think to draw glasses onto my childhood self in my doodles for this week. I wore glasses from the age of 4 to 12, but since my ocular condition was one that does not affect adults, I no longer have to wear anything but reading glasses. Nearly every picture of me from my childhood portrays me in glasses, but when scribbling up this week's doodles in honor or Rosie and Sammy, I failed to even remember that I wore them all those years ago.

If I'm to be honest, I was very self-conscious about my glasses as a child. What's more, as you can see in the photo above, as a child I even had to wear an eye patch to help correct my vision. That patch made me even more self-conscious than the glasses already did in the first place. My angel kitties Sammy and Rosie, though, they never once judged me for my face or what I wore on it. I remember feeling so comfortable around them no matter what I looked like, and how wonderful that felt.

Actually, Sammy loved to rub against my glasses. Once, he got so overzealous that he knocked the screw out of one of the earpieces on my glasses while rubbing against them. My parents and I couldn't find the tiny little screw anywhere, and I needed my glasses for school the next day, so we had to run out and buy another pair of glasses that night.

Well, that tangent up there wasn't entirely how I planned for this post to go. I even almost deleted those last couple paragraphs above. Now, though, I think I'll keep them in there. After all, that part of this post just goes to show how, growing up, I found great solace in spending time with my furbabies. They taught me about unconditional love, about what it means to never judge others. Whether you're a child or an adult, there is no better teacher in lessons on unconditional love than a cat or a dog.

And so, on this Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, I am thinking back on all of the beautiful, fond, happy memories I have gained thanks to all of my Rainbow Bridge angels. I have on my mind and in my heart pup Sacket, whom, sadly, I know only through photographs because I was just a baby when he left. I remember my budgie bird Pippin, and his successors Robin and Sweetpea. I remember my incredibly intelligent Banjo and my sweeter than sweet Shellie, who were my pup playmates. And, of course, I remember my dear angel kitties Rosie and her sweet brother Sammy, the best friends and reading buddies a girl could ever have.

We are keeping all of you and your angels in our thoughts and prayers today, friends. May your Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day be filled with fond memories. I know mine will be.

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Our Tip of the Day:

Today, we're taking a bit of a break from our feline vet visit tips in order to share a tip for Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day. Today's tip will offer some ideas on how you might be able to memorialize your Rainbow Bridge angels. Everyone has their own way of grieving and their own thoughts on memorials. Below are just some ideas that some may wish to use, while others may opt for other memorial options.

To begin, you can simply yet effectively memorialize your angel by displaying photos of them. You can even set up a little memorial corner or other area in your home, specifically for maintaining a memorial for your Rainbow Bridge angel. Whether or not you display it in a specific memorial area, you can also display your angel's clay paw, if you have one. You can also select a special urn for their remains, if you opted to keep their cremated remains.

Another option is to have customized portraits or other artwork painted or otherwise created for your Rainbow Bridge angel. You can have such artwork created based on your favorite photo of your angel, for example. Another option is to have custom jewelry created, using your Rainbow Bridge angel's image or name. Whether you wear such jewelry or put it on display, it can make for a lovely, unique memorial item.

If you can and want to, you can also create your own art or craft in honor of your angel. Whether this be a drawing, collage, or anything in between, this can help you feel closer to your angel. Or, you can write something in honor of your Rainbow Bridge angel. You can write a letter to them, write a poem for them, or simply write down any and all memories that you share with them. This is yet another way that you can honor and feel close to your angel, and you can choose to display or store away your personalized memorial items.

If you have a yard or garden where this is possible, you can also plant a tree or flower in honor of your Rainbow Bridge angel. You can also place a memorial plaque or statue for them in your yard or garden, or even inside your home. In the case where you can and do bury your furbaby in your yard, you can also select grave markers, including customized ones, to mark their resting place in a special way.

Yet another potential way to memorialize your Rainbow Bridge angel is to make some sort of donation to a shelter or rescue, such as the one from which they were adopted. Donations can be monetary, or in the form of food, toys, or even your time. Other donations you can make include those to the cause for a cure, such as in the case that your angel passed away from or suffered from a particular disease.

The options for memorializing Rainbow Bridge angels are endless. Everyone grieves and honors lost loved ones in their own way, and that is more than fine. If you wish to memorialize your angel, simply think of what ways might feel best to you, and then pursue those options.