09/19/2026
Goodbye, Sweet Patches 💔
Tuesday was one of the hardest days at our farm. We had to say goodbye to our sweet Patches. We knew the time was close but not that close and no one is truly prepared.
18 years ago, Kyle came home from a job site in Columbia,SC. When I got home from work he told me he had brought me a gift home. He told me to go find it. I couldn't find a gift and told him he was joking, he told me to go look again. I went looking and almost didn't see her because she was so tiny. She was just this little ball of fur, the most beautiful kitten I have ever seen. She was like a patchwork quilt.
That tiny kitten was Patches. ❤️
Kyle had found her at his job site, where she kept getting into his office. I guess she had already decided she belonged with him, and he decided she belonged with me. Little did we know that tiny kitten would become such a huge part of our lives.
She was our second fur baby.
If you have ever been on our farm, you knew Patches as she always greeted everyone. She was always somewhere around. Loving, gentle, and just a part of our everyday life.
And she sure loved leaving us “gifts.” Mice, rabbits, and whatever else she could catch, and proudly bring home. They weren't exactly the gifts we wanted, but she was always so proud of herself. 😂❤️
She had been through everything with me and Kyle. The good days, the hard days, raising our girls, moving, all the changes in our family, and all the years of building this farm. She was just always there.
Tuesday, I found her passed away in our garage.
I picked her up, held her as tight as I could, and cried. I told her how much I loved her, and I apologized to her. I don't even know exactly what I was apologizing for. Maybe for not being able to keep her here. Maybe for wishing I had more time. Maybe because when you love them that much, you can't help but feel like you should have been able to do something.
I just held my sweet girl and cried. 💔
We buried her behind our pond, right here on the farm she knew as home for 18 years, just the girls, me and Kyle.
There is something comforting about knowing she is still here with us, in a place she loved and knew so well. ❤️
The farm feels different now.
There won't be a little Patches walking around anymore greeting me at the door in the mornings or climbing on my lap when I sit on the front porch. No sweet face showing up somewhere. No little shadow nearby. And no more surprise mice and rabbit presents.
That tiny kitten Kyle brought home as a gift to me 18 years ago became one of the greatest gifts I've ever been given.
Patches wasn't just a cat. She was family. She was part of our story. Part of our farm. Part of our lives.
Thank you, sweet girl, for 18 years of love, companionship, and memories. Thank you for choosing us.
Rest easy, Patches. You can finally rest beneath the trees, beside the pond, on the farm that was your home.
I hope you knew how very, very loved you were.
