I left a huge part of my heart in Chicago yesterday. When I originally wrote this, I was alone and bawling at the Illinois Belvedere Travel Oasis. I didn't care who saw it. I am human.

​Honestly, I was just so happy to see my friend Noodle one last time. I picked him up and gave him a hug, and he gave me one last kiss/nuzzle on the hand. It's solid proof that no matter where your path takes you in life, pets keep you in their hearts, too.

​The truth is, he’s been living in Chicago for the last few years with my sister. He was my sister's cat, but I lived with him for many years and raised him too. She just ended up moving to Chicago for her job, whereas I decided to stay in Wisconsin.

It had been a few months since I last saw Noodle, but it was like we just picked right back up and started where we left off—like no time had passed at all.

​I’ll be honest, I didn't think about it at the time, but I'm so glad I got to show him a calm and happy me. When I saw him, I didn't feel sad, I felt happy to see my little friend. I loved him so much.

Now I have that beautiful last memory, and I am so grateful that my sadness didn't affect him in any way. He won't remember a crying me; he'll remember me as his friend who was so happy to see him. Because... I was.

​But now, I can not hide my pain and my grief. My friend is gone... he's really gone. I wrote a letter to him so that he'd always have a piece of me with him no matter where he goes. It has been buried with him in his shroud.

I realized it's not stupid at all to write a card to a cat. I never saw him as just a cat.. He was my friend. And like any friend, I feel the need to share his memory with the world.

​Oh, Noodle Toes, thank you so much for loving me. I had a cheese pizza slice in honor of you yesterday. I remember how you and I used to share cheese when you were younger. You always had to have a bite of whatever I was eating, but you loved it when I had cheese pizza.

Honestly, I'm really proud of myself. I'm glad I made that journey. It was a 300-mile journey round trip, but I didn't matter to me. No amount of physical distance would ever outweigh my love for this cat. 

In loving memory Noodle. 2008 to 2026.

Yeah, excuse the background, I didn't want to show my actual house for privacy reasons. But that's his mom and him. The background is set off of a real picture of them. His mom passed away back in 2019.

We lost our Noodle yesterday at nearly 18 years old. Story below