My electrician once said (in Italian), we’ve got problems and we’ve got problems. Meaning, we have real problems and perceived, unimportant ones. It stuck with me.

We often don’t realize at the time that the latter are unimportant until we’re faced with a real crisis.

2026 has been a difficult year on a personal level, with struggles of varying degrees seemingly coming from all angles. The current challenge is the health of my cat, Sammy. He’s 15.5 and I’ve had him since he was 10 weeks old.

If you’ve followed along on this blog, you know I tragically lost his twin sister before she reached 11. 

Now Sammy is getting older and he has ailments that just appeared for the first time this year. 

I want to heal him and comfort him, and at the same time I’m exhausted and have anticipatory grief for something that may be (hopefully is) a long time away. 

I have to keep everything in perspective to maintain my mental sanity. Some things are out of our control and in the hands of God. We wait and we pray and we hope for things to turn a corner.