Where Are You, My Friend?

I had intended this to be an upbeat, happy post filled with holiday stories and photos of our trip to New Jersey. This is also my 100th post on Blogger, and that deserved some sort of celebration. What was a wonderful trip has suddenly crumbled into anger and sadness.
When we returned home last evening, the water pipe in our laundryroom had burst and the room was filled with about 4 inches of water. All boxes, bags and even a few clothing items were floating around in there. Hence, no water supply at all until the plumber can fix the leak. But that is a small inconvenience compared to the greater issue. Alix had gone with us on this trip and survived the ride amazingly well. Infact, it was decided amongst Joe, my parents and I that Alix enjoyed Christmas most of all! Coal and Elliot arrived to greet us as soon as we pulled in the driveway. There was Bud standing outside his dog house and the kittens were waiting inside. Even the elusive Mocha came out of the barn to say 'welcome back'. So far we have not seen site of our Sammy. He is our oldest black cat and has FIV, a form of Feline Leukemia. He shows no outward signs of being ill and is over 12 years old (at my best guess). He has suffered in the past from bouts of illness that cause him to "shut-down" and just lay still. It effects his upper respiratory system and these attacks last several days. He usually hides himself away under the bed or in a quiet corner of the house until he feels well enough to join us. He has even vanished outside somewhere for 16 days and then returned to us....a bit thinner but healthy again. With being away from home for 8 days I have no idea if he was ill or when he was last seen. The neighbors in charge of the care of the house/pets say they saw him Friday night, but he didn't want to come inside because the weather was unusually mild. But these are the same neighbors who were in charge of the water shut-off valve. I don't mean to be ungrateful for their help. I suppose I am just frustrated, angry and sad all at once. My house was cold, messy and water was spewing from my laundryroom at high speed. Now my dear friend Sammy is missing. I've searched and searched in all his usual hiding places. I have even done the mandatory search of the roadside ditches for any unfortunate accidents. Luckily, nothing. Please come back to us Sammy, we miss you.