Complex Numbers

Ashes

Today, I picked up Maggie's ashes from the vet. Included in a bag with the tin was some glurge about the Rainbow Bridge, which I suppose helps some people feel better, but doesn't do much for me; and a brochure for a pet loss support group.

I can't imagine going to a support group, but again, if it helps some people feel better, great.

How do I know it's really Maggie's ashes in there, anyway? They could have burned some old furniture and called it Maggie. I don't know. I suppose it doesn't matter. I'm probably being silly wanting to hang on to the physical remains of my cat, but when they asked, I wasn't exactly in a rational state of mind.

What I really need to do is find something different to store the remains in. The tin they gave me has pretty flowers on it. Flowers aren't meaningful to me in this context. Maggie didn't like them (she preferred catnip and grass, when she wasn't eating kibble or stealing nibbles of chicken), and in the culture in which I was raised, flowers aren't associated with death or remembrance - stones are. Right now, the tin is sitting in my office next to my picture of Maggie.

Perhaps I can find a nice box with calico-colored gemstones.