I  envisioned our first day waking up as official West Villagers would go a bit differently. In my mind I saw the four of us (Me, Peter, Jonsey & Dublin) waking up together, peaceful and content. I thought there would be a sense of relief. In reality it was the opposite, complete panic. Just as we finished packing our last box on Saturday night, Jonsey started to have a medical emergency, she was crying, inflamed, and had blood in her urine. This has never happened before. So naturally we rushed her over to the 24 hour Friendship Animal Hospital in Northwest and they examined Jonsey until about midnight. They sent us home with some medications and no real diagnosis, other than she could be experiencing these symptoms due to the stress of the move. Jonsey never seems to get stressed out though, she can handle just about anything and she loves excitement. She's the opposite of a fraidy cat and becomes bored with life from time to time, as she longs to be where the action is, even in her old age.

The following morning we woke at 4am and drove a U-haul to NYC. She seemed to be doing better... and then we woke up Sunday morning to find her in the worst shape I've ever seen her. So naturally I started my first day living in NY with an early morning emergency visit to the Greenwich Village Animal Hospital. Jonsey took her very first Uber ride, surprisingly she didn't think it was worth the all the hype… she cried the entire time. One of the first questions they asked me when we arrived at the GVAH was if I am the owner, that was the first time anyone has ever asked me that. Welcome to NYC! The land where everyone has someone else do everything for them! I think they may have thought that I was hired help... And then I met Dr. Shea, a gorgeous veterinarian, who probably works as a model when she's not saving lives and caring for animals. Oh NYC :-)

In the middle of writing this post I received a phone call from Dr. Shea with bad news. Jonsey has a bladder full of huge stones and she needs to have emergency surgery to remove them all. Please keep Jonsey in your thoughts for the next few days. She's one of my very best friends in the whole world and I've learned so much from her, she has such a strong and determined spirit and she lets everyone know exactly how she feels. My email to the Greenwich Village Animal Hospital:

GVAH,

I can't thank you enough for seeing Jonsey on such short notice and now performing surgery on her, it means the world to me. 

I know she's not in her friendliest state right now, but she's truly one of my best friends. Dr. Shea, I read that you have two rescue dogs as well :) Jonsey came from the rough streets of Southeast DC where she obviously had a previous owner that did not treat her well and wound up leaving her to die in an alley. Needless to say she's a cat with real attitude and she's not afraid to let people know how she feels :)  I've learned a lot from her. 

Thank you so much for caring for Jonsey on her first day as a NY resident. I know she's in the best hands possible. Soon she'll have her health back and be able to fill her new role as queen of the West Village. (Take that evil people that abused her and left her for dead!!) 

Jonsey's mom,

Sam

Look, some people might think that I'm a crazy cat lady (Lily said that I'm not ONLY because I'm married), but you'll be surprised to know I didn't choose Jonsey, in fact I didn't want her at all, it was someone else's decision to take her in that lead us to become besties, which ultimately lead me to keeping her for good. After I got to know her I couldn't imagine being without her or parting ways. I adopted Dublin in order to keep her company and bring her companionship. I left my tiny condo and bought a house so that she could have more space for her and a companion. Everything I've done in the past 4 years has been to make Jonsey happy, which is no small fete. She's been there with me through my lowest lows and my highest highs (which have all happened in the past 4 years) To me it doesn't matter what Jonsey is: human, cat, dog, horse, lion...whatever! It means nothing to me. It's her soul and spirt that speak to me, no words necessary.

After years of giving her relentless love and attention, the cat who had her heart broken and endured abuse throughout her life, let down her guard and trusted me. One of the most rewarding experiences of my life. 

Update

:After the surgery Dr. Shea called me and told me that every went smoothly and Jonsey is doing really well! They extracted an exorbitant amount of stones to the point that she took pictures, just because they had never seen so many. Apparently Jonsey had black and blue marks all along her stomach where her bladder was pressing against her muscle and skin. She's going to have to spend a few nights at the animal hospital, but other than that Dr. Shea said she has a ravenous appetite and continues to shove her face into the food bowl as she makes growling noises, thats my Jonsey. If there ever a day comes when I can't get her to eat, then I know there's a real problem!

I went to visit Jonsey after the surgery when she was all drugged up,  and she was so happy to see her mother  :-) Although our first early morning was not as joyful as we had expected, by the afternoon we experienced a twinkle of excitement and happiness with this...

Our wedding was featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, which hit news stands on our first day in NY!! Very fitting. This is S+P's first magazine spread. Under the topic Celebrations, Page 189-192. Check it out! Peter and I couldn't be more proud of our wedding, we worked so hard to make it a true reflection of our love. 

MSW and our own book that we created together.

(The only reason why we had zero compatibility is because Peter didn't answer any of the questions.)

I love these shout outs to Amy, Lily, Ben, and Annie!! Thank you all for making that day so special :-)

You can also find a few more pictures/details in the digital version of the magazine. 

All and all it was a great first day!

The low points:

Rushing a very sick Jonsey to the veterinarian/ not having any heat in the apartment when it was 6 degrees outside.

The high points:

Buying our copy of MSW/Watching a man hold and feed a squirrel in Washington Square Park/ Going to an evening Soul Cycle with Peter/ Meeting Dr. Shea/ Having a nice exchange with a man in the soup section at Union Square Whole Foods, who taught me how to mix Butternut Squash and Clam Chowder/ Bumping into Alec Baldwin walking his two dogs past our brownstone.