Big Things Are Going Down

So I teased a few days ago about the return of Sam and Nairobi. Brunsli has Cello and Chicco-- and they are adorable...but they are dogs. I have an alternative for you.
After a six month separation...I have finally been reunited with my two cats.
When I last saw them, it was about 36 hours before Katrina hit. I made the difficult decision to leave them at home. Not because I don't love them or even because I didn't want to take them...I left them because Sam hates to ride in the car. I figured the stress of the car trip and then being cooped in a motel room for a couple of days would be worse then being home alone together. Little did I know that they would be stranded in the middle of Category 4 hurricane in a house that took on about eight feet of water. They were rescued from the house on or about September 29, a month later, when we still weren't allowed to go back. And that is where the story could have ended...
Since we got to Virginia, I have been scouring PetFinder, working with the Humane Society and a group called Best Friends, trying, trying to find my cats. I have looked at more mug shots of lost kitties than you would ever want to see. All heart-breaking and fruitless...
It was at the six month mark of our stay here that I said a little prayer that if it was God's will I never see my cats again, that they were safe and sound in a new home. And just like that...there was an email from a stranger.
Now usually I delete strange emails...they could be viruses at worst and usually they are Viagra ads...but this one...
It was a woman who swore she had Sam and Nairobi. She sent her cell number. I was intrigued, but cautious. When I got her on the phone, I couldn't believe what she had to say...
She had two black cats since October. Her friends went down to New Orleans to do animal search-and-rescue and saw two black cats together in a carrier and brought them directly to her. She KNEW they were mine because one had a rhinestone collar with her phone number and even more in their carrier was their vaccination records with their names and MINE.
Now I don't know who you pray to, but that sounded DIVINE to me. She emailed me a photo of a collar with a cracked bell that I knew belonged to Nairobi.
Since then, I have been secretly excited that I was getting my cats back. The woman-- Robyn-- and I exchanged emails about their behavior--naughty--and how we were going to get them from Michigan(!) to Virginia. Just when I had gotten through to Best Friends--who are donating resources to reunite people with their pets...How wonderful!--Robyn calls to say that the women who rescued Sam and Nairobi INSIST on bringing them back to me themselves! They all work at a veterinary hospital in Michigan and they wanted to see their efforts through to a happy ending. So I started talking with a live wire, young lady named Rachael...they decided to drive straight here and straight back to drop off my kitties and a chihuahua named Girl to a man from New Orleans.
So I was worried...Were they really mine? Would they remember me? Would they be angry that I left them alone? Did they have traumatic effects? Had they adjusted OK? Would they adjust to being here? Is it OK to have them here? Now what? Sigh...I'm good at worrying.
So after lots of calls...they are here.
They seem to recognize me and Mom and Gram, but they are really confused about the house.
But I know they'll be OK, because last night they got in bed with me and hogged the mattress. Just like old times...I have to get a king-sized again...
So I guess all's well that ends well...