Back in the fall of 2015, I was laid off. I’d been laid off before, so I was experienced with the “it’s not you, you’re great, but we’re just going in a different direction,” scenario. Regardless of how they sugarcoat the blow, it’s demoralizing, and it hurts, especially considering I was living from paycheck to paycheck, so any negative change in income was bad news. Like grief, one tends to process the pain in various stages, and for me, one of the ways that helped get me through the days as I struggled to look for new employment was taking early morning walks around the neighborhood to clear my head and start each day with a positive outlook. Read more

My beloved Jazz – we shared 15 years together, both the highs and the lows, and you will forever be in my heart.

I founded Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day in 2015, two years after my beloved Ragdoll cat, Mr. Jazz crossed the Rainbow Bridge on August 28, 2013. While perhaps the passing days have softened the pain of his loss, his memory still shines bright in my heart, and I will never forget the life we shared.

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My beloved angel, Mr. Jazz – the inspiration for Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day.

Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day is Wednesday, August 28 and for those of you who might want to participate in some manner, I wanted to share the details with you. 

First, as with every year, there is no pressure to participate. I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable, as I know it’s not always an easy day for everyone and can be sad. But that said, the outpouring of compassion I see every year is so touching, as people share in the love they have for their pet(s) and it’s a time when we can all take a moment to collectively come together and comfort one another.

Also as with every year, I will also be hosting the annual blog hop here. The post will go live at 12:00 a.m., EST, on August 28 with the code and linking information available then. I have also created a Facebook event page for those who might want to post a picture, share a favorite memory, upload a video, or more. This is the event link: . Please feel free to invite others you think might want to be a part of the day.

Official Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day logo as designed by Deb Barnes.

I also have an official logo if you don’t already have it and would like to use it. Please email me at info@zeezoey.com and I’ll forward it to you. There is no requirement to use the logo – this day comes from the heart, so please do whatever is most comfortable for you. If you’ll be sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social venues, you can use the hashtag #rainbowbridgeremembranceday and if you’re crediting me for founding the day in any of your posts, please reference me as Deb Barnes of Zee and Zoey’s Cat Chronicles, author of Purr Prints of the Heart,  and founder of Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day.

Thank you, everyone – my heart goes out to all of you who have loved and lost a pet. And just in case you don’t know, this is the brief history of the day: I founded Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day (RBRD) in 2015 as a special day for pet guardians to honor the memory of those beloved pets in their life they have loved and lost, but never forgotten – whether fur, fin, feathers, scales or something else. It’s held every year on August 28, in honor of the day I had to say goodbye to my precious Ragdoll cat, Mr. Jazz, the meow author of Purr Prints of the Heart – A Cat’s Tale of Life, Death, and Beyond.  

It’s a Blog Hop!

Enjoying an absolutely gorgeous day last year in Parkland, Florida, with this stunning horse, Sunny.

While a lovely sentiment and I don’t begrudge anyone who enjoys celebrating the day, for me, Valentine’s Day is not a day I’m prone to embrace. I don’t particularly want or need a specific day to have gifts, flowers, chocolates, etc. bestowed on me, but living a mere minutes away from Parkland, Florida, the city where the horrific shooting took place on February 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in which a gunman opened fire and killed seventeen students and staff members and injured seventeen others,  I’ve had a change of heart and perspective.

My heart will forever be tied to these precious souls who lost their lives on February 14, 2018.

It’s difficult not to be reflective and feel a tremendous malaise in the air. Being the anniversary of the incident, it’s on the news all the time and my heart breaks all over again each time I hear something about it, bringing me to tears at the senselessness of it all. I Dan and I were in the vicinity of the shooting a few days before it happened, enjoying the quiet beauty of the day as we watched a horse competition. Parkland is a gorgeous community – peaceful, beautifully landscaped and idyllic in nearly every way. It’s hard to grasp something so evil was living within, grappling to come out in such a violent and premeditated way.

Paying my respects to the shooting victims at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

After the incident, the students rallied, parents rallied, the community rallied, as did the nation and the whole world, trying to make sense of it in the throes of grief. I’m not sure how one ever moves on, but we try. We have to. If nothing else, Valentine’s Day, and really every day, needs to be a reminder that we simply must try harder as people to love. Not the romantic love associated with Valentine’s Day hearts and Cupid’s arrow, but the love that comes from kindness, tolerance, and acceptance. We need to listen more, we need to care more, and we need to love more. We don’t know the shoes or path another walks, but perhaps if we were more invested in the small spec of the world each of us inhabits, many of the tragedies of today could have been avoided had we paid attention to all the little signs that were really big cries for help.

Every creature on this earth serves a purpose. Love, respect, cherish and embrace that purpose.

So give all those in your life you care about an extra hug, kiss, or smile. Pay someone a compliment – maybe even a complete stranger, as you don’t know how perhaps that small act could brighten their day in a moment when they really need it. Be less angry in traffic and more patient waiting in line at the grocery store. Extend that kindness to all living creatures great and small, including our earth that gives us the beautiful world in which we live. Be respectful of nature and be respectful of one another. Life is fleeting for all of us, that much I know for sure, so why not make it one in which every day is Valentine’s Day.

I founded Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day back in 2015, a couple years after my beloved Ragdoll cat, Mr. Jazz crossed the Rainbow Bridge on August 28, 2013. While the day was created in tribute to his passing, today I thought I’d share a memory of another very special cat in my life, one from back when I was in my late teens, early 20’s, which was around the late 1970’s, early 1980’s. Read more