I'm not Mike, but that looks much better.

Very true. About 10 years ago, I lost my first cat. 11 months later, I
lost my dog.

Now, I loved my dog very much, and I still miss her. And it took me a
long time to stop crying at every thought of her. But on that one year
anniversary of Fiona's death, I was still grieving for Fiona worse
than I was grieving for Seusy. I actually felt guilty that I wasn't
grieving enough for Seusy, but it was really that I had spent 19 years
with Fiona (my whole childhood), so I just hadn't finished grieving
yet.

I grieved just as much for a stray cat that I had only 2 1/2 weeks. As
long as we don't let the grief consume us, then it is best to let
itself work out as it needs to. I used to be keenly aware of the
yearly anniversaries for at least 5 years after their deaths. Now, I
have to look up the dates. I know Fiona is in April and Seusy is in
May. One is the 11th and one is the 5th. But I can't remember which
year, and the dates pass, and days go before before I realize the date
has passed.

With Jasper, I know it was in July, and it was 3:06 AM. For me, the
date was not so important as the time, since he was the one who died
at home with the horrible death. It is the moment, the experience,
that I remember. And I looked at the clock when I knew he was gone. I
can look up the date since I have records, but it isn't important to
me. I know it was 4 years ago, and I still cry when I think of him.
But I laugh too. I didn't have him long, but he left a huge
impression.

Also, years ago, i was cleaning out my closet, and I found my old pink
robe. It is in horrible condition and has a permanent ink stain. But
it was Fiona's robe. She loved pink robes, and always sat on my mom. I
complained, and they gave me a pink robe for Christmas (I used to have
a green one). From then on, she was all over me and my pink robe. I
would leave it on the bed for her. I have photos of her with it. When
she died. we buried her in a pink robe, but I kept hers. Well, as I
was cleaning, I decided I didn't need it, so I tossed it in the trash
can. Then I burst into tears. I realized that I still had a lot of
emotion attached to that robe, so I stuffed it back in the closet. It
doesn't need to be out, but I am not ready to get rid of it. Even now,
I have started tearing up, and she died 10 or 11 years ago.

My favorite of grieving is this, written by robert a moeser:

You will find that the hole in your heart turns into a window, through
which you will find yourself gazing, wistfully at times, as you
remember that cat's life, not her death.