Woven In

Oh, Mr. Schwartz, we are so sorry not to have been able to visit with you one last time! I told D. the sad news of your passing this evening, and I prefaced it by explaining that I had some news to share that wasn't so much sad for him as it was sad for his Auntie Nish.

After we talked for a bit, D looked at me gravely and said, "You were wrong about that, Mommy. It is sad for me that Mr. Schwartz is gone."

This was a truly special cat, whose life was so entwined with our friend's that it's a little hard to imagine her NY apartment without Mr. Schwartz cleverly tucked away into some corner.

If you think about the small moments in your day that are special to you, the way you like the feel of the wooden handle of your favorite paring knife, the two squirrels who play tag around your front tree in the morning, the smell of your favorite bar of soap... little things that you hardly ever give a conscious thought to but which bring you a small trickle of pleasure... Mr. Schwartz was an expert at creating those kinds of moments. He was completely woven into those little moments of our friend's life. We were happy to share in some of them.