The "Cat-Sitter Jinx" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just talking to our daughter-in-law, Barb, via FaceTime on our iPad.  Gave us some upsetting news.  Seems that our cat-sitter, Barb's cousin Lori, became ill two days ago and had to have her friend take her to the hospital where she underwent an emergency appendectomy.  Our son, Tad, who had been visiting our house every morning on his way home from work to feed Otis, our cat, as well a bring in the mail and mow the grass will take over the cat-sitting duties for the next couple of days until we return from our vacation.  Gonna be hard to find a cat-sitter pretty soon after word gets out about the illnesses that can afflict you while cat-sitting at LDub's house with Otis.  About a dozen years ago, after deciding that we would rather leave our aging cats at home instead of placing them in a kennel with all those rowdy dogs, we starting to search for a cat-sitter who, if not able to live at our house, could spend an hour or two every day with the cats to keep them company and give them their meds and feed them.  We asked one of the attendants at our vet's office if she knew of anyone and she told us that she does cat-sitting for several other people.  Leah was a perfect match for us and our cats.  She loved animals and was about the same age as we were, and knew how important our cats are to us.  For about half a dozen years, while cat-sitting for us, she would visit with them in the morning on her way to work, give them their meds and feed them.  If there were any days that she could not do the chore, she would call our son and he would stop and take care of the job for us.  Then, one day, a few years ago, while we were on vacation, she became ill at our place and had to call her sister to take her to the hospital.  She had suffered a stroke and informed us that her work schedule was too stressful and she was going to have to give up her cat-sitting jobs.  We were so upset that Leah would not be able to watch our cats because we could tell they enjoyed her visits with them.  Needless to say, her health was more important than watching our cats.  Shortly after we received Leah's news we were visiting Barb's mother's home for Thanksgiving and happened to mention to someone about our cat-sitter.  That was when Lori told us that she would love to stay at our house and watch our cats.  Seems she owns a home near Harrisburg, PA and works in Lancaster, PA, about a mile from our home.  Staying at our place for a few weeks would be a real treat for her, since she could stay in bed longer in the morning with a much shorter drive.  We thought we were set, until the news we just received.  We're hoping that Lori will still be able to cat-sit when necessary, but if not, it may be tough to find a new one after they hear about what has happened to the previous two.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.