I didn’t expect to be a queen for half a week. I stumbled upon a crown buried in the tumble weeds of my backyard when I went in search of cries I heard for the past few days. The queen had scurried off as I crept closer out of curiosity, leaving behind five tiny kittens. When I saw them, my heart leaped, and I could barely contain my excitement! They were surrounded by a hedge of prickly weeds. I ecstatically told my mom my discovery and then my brother and we discussed what we were going to do. The kittens needed a box to keep them from getting stuck with the thorn that surrounded them — so that’s what we did. We left them out there in the chilling night for four hours, hoping the queen would return for her kittens, but she never came back. We then decided to bring them into the house, knowing that all hope of them being reunited with their mother was wiped away. They slept through the night in a blue garden bin lined with a blanket; no mom and no food.

We thought that it would be as easy as dropping them off to a shelter, but after learning that understaffed pounds will euthanize bottle fed kittens, we knew that wasn’t an option. My mom asked me is I was willing to take care of them for as long as needed until we could find them a home. I said yes, without a second thought. I had unintentionally became the queen.

The next morning my mom and I loaded the car with the kittens and went off to find — what we thought would be — their new home. But we were sent back with nothing but leads and a bin full of kittens. We stopped by Petco and picked up the supplies for me to care for the kittens, before driving back home.

I made my first bottle of milk that day — not knowing half of what I was doing. They hadn’t eaten in several hours and bottle feeding any living thing was a first for me; as a result, the kittens and I both struggled to figure it out. I was scared, but I didn’t show it. I feared that I would mess up but I felt a sense of responsibility to them. They were given solely to my care, and I would do my very best to take care of them — no matter how much work.

It was a lot of work. I had to get up every three hours day and night to feed them, burp them, and help them to go to the bathroom. I was put on a kitten care crash course, and my life immediately became consumed with their care and learning how to nurture them as best I could. Even when I was fumbling through the house at four in the morning, warming bottles with hot water in glass cups, with nothing but the refrigerator to give me light, I did it without complaining.

When I fed them, I felt happy and at peace. When I was with them, I didn’t worry about anything in the world. My attention was given solely to their care. I sat in silence only hearing the sound of them sucking milk contentedly. One night, as I was feeding one of the kittens, I thought to myself what a blessing they were to me and how thankful I was that the Most High gave me stewardship of them, however brief it would be.

I learned through taking care of them to take life easy and to enjoy the little moments life gives. The squeaky sounds they made when suckling made me smile, even in my half sleep state. I learned the form love takes when you truly care about something. It’s selfless and giving. Despite only sleeping a few hours in between feeding and dealing with fussy kittens who wanted to eat, I loved them. I realized that I even loved them enough to let them go.

I cared for them for four days and in that time I grew really attached to all five of them; but especially a black one that I named Tiana from Princess and the Frog (pictured above). After a lot of calling and dead-end leads, we finally found someone to take them that was a part of “no kill” organization. I was so happy, because the Most High provided them a new home — just like he provided me with them. I knew that my short time with the kittens came to an end at the appointed time.

That didn’t make letting them go easy, though. During our drive to drop them off, they fell fast asleep, and I told myself that I wouldn’t cry when I left them. I even felt confident that I wouldn’t. When we arrived, the lady who was to be their new caretaker greeted them with kisses, and it set my heart more at ease. But when it came time to leave, as I was walking away from what I came to call “my babies,” I couldn’t help but cry a little. I knew I was more sad for myself than for them.

In the four days that I had the kittens, I learned so much. I learned a hands on lesson on love, life, and responsibility. A lesson that will stick with me for the rest of my life. I don’t believe in coincidences. I don’t believe that they were born in my backyard by chance. I know the Most High brought them into my life for a short season and a greater purpose just when I needed them most. He gave me something to love and take care of that changed my perspective about life.  I’m truly grateful for the time that I had with them and being able to be a queen — even if it was only for four days.