Love

Just Another Merlin Monday

/ Katie / 30 Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve written a post about Merlin, so I thought I’d show him some love today. Did you know he has a full name? It is Merlinus Ambrosius Toothifer Goodcat Campbell. A grand name for a grand cat.

He’s adjusted quite well, really, to living in Virginia Beach.

He loves to look out at all the birds and squirrels in our yard. And lately, he’s been trying to bust out of jail and go be a wild thing. It’s been…fun…to manage.

He’s always been Lucy’s friend and protector.

Though lately, she’s asking a lot of him.

Don’t worry. We keep him safe and we’re teaching her every day how to be gentle and give him the kind of attention he likes.

I haven’t shared this before, but Merlin is also a sick kitty. He seemed well when we first brought him home, but quickly developed symptoms of what we thought was a cold due to the stress of being in a new environment. He sneezed and coughed, and one of his eyes got sort of weepy and crusty.

We brought him to the vet as soon as possible, and he was diagnosed with Feline Calicivirus. It’s common, and if cats get it, they carry it for life. In many cats, it just manifests as a cold, and they don’t have symptoms again unless or until they’re old or sick. In other cats, it’s acute, and deadly. In Merlin’s case, it’s chronic. He’s okay, just sneezy and occasionally snotty. And unfortunately, the virus also attacked his teeth and gums, and we’ve had to have several of his teeth pulled so that he can eat comfortably. Whatever we have to do for the rest of his life to take care of him, we will. He’s our family.

And he’s a happy cat. And very, very good.

We’re so grateful for him. There just aren’t many like him. How lucky we are, that we found him, and that he’s decided to love us back.

A Memory in the Wrong Shoes (A Haibun for Pride Month)

/ Katie / 18 Comments

Our friends got married in June, their true real love made legal at last. And we were there, their people, all of us cheers and smiles and hugs and holding fast our hopes for a brighter tomorrow, as the One World spire lit up the gibbous sky in rainbows. And my toes, oh my toes.

Pride by the water
Two sweet lovers said I do
I wore the wrong shoes

**************

This is a poem for Rebecca’s May/June poetry challenge over at Fake Flamenco – to capture an imperfect moment in a haibun. (I’m bending her rules just a little bit, by about 15 words. I hope she doesn’t mind.)

It’s also a true story, and a celebration, a lamentation, a statement of support and hope. We aren’t where we were, back in 2016 when Graham and I attended this beautiful wedding of two very dear friends – not least because I now refuse to wear high heels – but we aren’t, as a society, where we’ll end up either. I have to believe that. I have to believe we’ll do better. I have to believe it for all the people I love who love each other but are afraid, for the people I love who can’t be their whole selves without fear and just live every day like everyone else.

You never have to be afraid with me, and I will always have a safe space for you in my heart and in my home. I’m proud of you. And I love you for exactly who you’ve always been meant to be.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Mother’s Day 2026

/ Katie / 12 Comments

The little beach fairy who made me a mama.

And her grandmother, the woman who made me.

My parents came to visit this weekend, and I’m so grateful I got to spend Mother’s Day with my mom. My dad starts his cancer treatment this week, and it’ll be a while before we’re all together again, so I’m especially glad we got to make these memories. Every day counts, y’all, and every moment is special.

Mom and Me (A Mother’s Day Poem)

/ Katie / 14 Comments

I am the sum of all the best parts
of my mom.
I share her two-toned eyes and her thick hair.
She taught me poems
and kindness,
and she chose a good man to be my dad.
I am a reflection of her heart,
a collection of her dreams –
all the love and all the things she wants but never had.
She gave those things to me.

Women (A Poem)

/ Katie / 19 Comments

Here’s good:
There is something so surreal and so absolutely,
achingly,
magically,
transcendently beautiful
about watching my mama rock
her granddaughter – my daughter – to sleep.
My heart can barely hold it.
And I know:
It’s not the wars that will keep us safe,
that will keep us going.
It’s the women.

Found Friday #47: A Very Good Gatsby Memory

/ Katie / 4 Comments

This photo popped up in my memories earlier this week.

Apparently, I took it in May of 2007. I don’t remember the when, but I do remember the why. Graham had just come home from work, and Gatsby immediately curled up right beside him as soon as he sat down. And stayed there. It was just such a sweet moment I felt like I had to capture it, and now, all these years later, I’m so glad I did.

I look back now – at how young Graham looked, at how much Gatsby always loved us, at how lucky it was that I had a camera nearby – and I’m grateful. I’m also reminded that we are legacies for the people (and animals) that we love. Even when they’re no longer with us, we carry them in our hearts, and so they’re never really gone, as long as we’re still here to love them and remember them. How very powerful that is.  

What I Know About Love (A Poem)

/ Katie / 24 Comments

Powerful,
poetic,
proud,
all around,
and resoundingly not
a finite resource.
No one can
stop it
restrain it
or legislate it
even if they hate it.
To dam it up
hide it
flee it
fight it
deny it
is a worthless war
of losing battles.
So drum it up.
Choose it.
Ally it.
Sing it.
Say it.
Be in it.
In short,
I can sum up
what I know
about love
in just two words,
and it’s this:
IT IS.

There Is Love

/ Katie / 8 Comments

Everywhere. All around. In the brightest and the darkest places. Written on the faces of fathers and mothers, siblings, partners, and friends that become family. On every road, down every path, no matter the wrong turns and false starts, it’s still out there.

And you’re worthy of it.

You deserve it.

So, here’s your reminder, if you need it:

In this world, there is love. Yes, there’s hate, and fear, and anger, and sadness, but also, there is love.

You are loved.