a hope note

On Wednesday Ivar woke up and told me that he was going to make a hope note for Vernon. I asked him what a hope note was and he told me, "it's a card with a picture that tells Vernon I hope he comes back." I loved the simplicity of this idea. I loved how sweet he was when he said it. I love that we hadn't talked about Vernon in weeks, but that he woke up thinking about our well-loved cat.

We got Vernon when he was just a kitten. You who have read here for a while know him well, as he's been well documented. He had the personality of a dog. Super faithful, always nearby. If we went anywhere on the farm, he followed. There were even a few times I'd drive to the end of our lane and notice a shadow moving on the top of our car, to realize Velma and Vernon were perched on top, ready to go to town with us. Our family photo session was photo bombed frequently by Vernon. I think in the end we actually had to lock him in the garage so we could get some pictures without the cat and super distracted kids.

Vernon has been missing for a few months now. I suppose that's the life of a farm cat, but it's also a surprise because we had him for two whole years, which is a long time in farm cat years. He has disappeared for weeks at a time before, but this is by far the longest stretch. And we miss him.

I suppose this is my own hope note, hoping he comes home.