Sometimes Elvira sleeps so long and so soundly that I have to check to see if she is still breathing. I don’t touch her, for I don’t want to startle her awake. Being deaf and blind, she does not need the stress of that. Instead I check to make sure her chest is still rising and falling with the rhythm of life. Such a small gift of joy to find that her breath has not failed me. One day it will, but not today. Such a small cat, such a big part of my life.