Dear Suzanne,

Today was a lovely and warm winter day here at the Bridge, and even
with the snow clinging to everything, I decided to take a snooze in my
outdoor hammy. I have it set up between four really tall stony pine
trees, so I get just the right amount of shade and sunlight at the same
time. At any rate, here I was all comfortable and snoozing when all
of a sudden I hear this giggling and dooking and the next thing I know
I am being dog-piled on by four fuzzits! The first one I recognized
was D'Weasel, "Weezer" as he likes to be called, and then there was
beautiful Babs, and Slinky and Sammy - who, while I could only see
their backsides, I knew who they were the minute I saw Weezer!

I asked what they were up to and they told me that their mom had asked
for a Bridge Greeting. I looked at them in surprise and said, "But that
can't be right, everyone at your earthly home is ok, at least they were
the last time I looked, did something happen that I'm not aware of?"

Babs just bounced around on me and giggled and said, "Nope silly Pie,
everyone *is* ok, but mommy had something special to ask of you. Have
you ever heard of the Giving Tree?", she asked.

"Have I? Well of course I have, my mum tries to be a Secret Santa every
year. She didn't get to this year because she was so busy at work that
she had no time, but she promises me next year she will pick two
fuzzits so she can make up for missing last years tree!", I replied.

"Well our mommy put together a package for a fur baby named Grace, but
Grace passed away on Friday and mommy was really concerned that she
would get here and be alone, so we, that is Weezer, Sammy and Slinky
and I want to be there when she arrives. Can we do that Pie O' Pah, can
we please? It would make mommy feel so much better knowing that Grace
had someone there to greet her and to show her around, I know that's
normally a job for a Bridge Greeter ....", she trailed off and then
looked down at her paws which she held clasped in front of her.

It melted me all over, this beautiful fuzzit gal and the precious look
on her face, and her request was so simple and so unselfish that I
agreed that we could all go down to the Bridge together and yes, she
could be the one to show Grace around. She gave me this really big hug
and then whispered in my ear, "I have another reason for wanting to go,
and she looked up at me with those kind eyes and said, "I have always
wanted a sister to play with and I think Grace won't mind having me for
one do you?"

"Of course not.", I whispered back.

So we all rolled out of the hammy onto the soft, snowy ground and off
we set for the Bridge. The sky was this brilliant blue and there were
fluffy clouds scattered all over and the sun was so nice and warm,
and as we arrived at The Bridge, we could see that someone was indeed
making their way across. There was a soft, pink glow and then Grace
came slowly out of the mist. She was very cautious in coming over and
as soon as she stepped off of the last slat, Babs was there all full of
giggles and dooks and love and you could see it was *just* what Grace
needed, because she responded by laughing and war dancing all around
us.

After introductions were made, and Babs showed her around up her, Grace
asked that we let her shelter mom know that she got her safely, and to
tell her that she has a new sister named Babs she loves and thank you
so much for making certain that she wasn't alone when she came here. I
say thank you as well. It is nice to know that no matter that you never
met Grace, that you thought enough to ask for a greeting for her, and
I, in return, am proud to have been here for that Greeting. Oh and
before I get yelled at one more time, Babs, Slinky, Sammy and Weezer
told me to tell you, "We love you MOM!!!!!!!!"

In Love & In Comfort,
Pie O' Pah

[Posted in FML 6207]