SUNDAYS

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I woke up early this morning not of my own free will but because Chachi, the cat, wasn’t having it any other way. He had places to go and the “human” had no choice in the matter but to follow.

Dragging myself out of the thick and comfy blankets I was under was really hard. Looking at him with blurry, sleep-filled eyes I noticed he was sitting on the bedside table, his cute face puffed up and his tail thumping. It was a look of impatience and I have seen that look many times before. At times, I think he’s too spoiled for his own good but at other times I embrace it with my whole being. He’s my buddy, my shadow, a mini “me” in a fur coat and my rock when times get tough. Sometimes I think he knows all of this and more hence his power to wield and demand as he sees fit!

A sudden high-shrilled meow pierces the air and it sounds just like mommy! “C’mon mom, let’s move it!” he says as he moves to the door with a backward glance in my direction. Slipping my feet into fur-lined slippers, I move as he wants me to but very very slowly. My day is having a hard time catching up with me.

Once the door is opened, I head to the bathroom but Mr. Impatient lets out a huge sigh and a muffled whatever it means in cat language and waits outside the door giving me this, “God Almighty, can we MOVE it please!” look. There are no snuggles and wet kisses this morning. He’s about himself and what he wants but come to think of it, it is that way most days. I am learning that there is no teaching a cat, just when you think you’ve got them trained, they’ll turn around and show you how wrong you are. It must be all that cuteness that comes in a fur package and those large adoring eyes. He’s got me whipped!

After what seems like minutes to me and I’m sure “hours” to Mr. Impatient, we head down the stairs. He takes off like a bullet and heads to his window seat in the kitchen and peers curiously out the window. It is still dark and there is a strong wind blowing which is sending the last of the leaves hurtling to the ground and it has Chachi’s full attention. That’s what I call, “Action TV!” he says and plops down on the cushion and goes into a trance-like state forgetting the “human” standing behind him. All is right in his world for now.

I head on back upstairs with a hot, steaming cup of coffee and breakfast in hand. Sundays are for relaxing so I turn on the TV, get comfortable in bed and ready to find out what is going on in the world. The news today seems to be full of President Elect Trump and his new cabinet in the making. The names and faces are familiar and there seems to be a common element in all of his picks. Either they are criminals waiting to be charged or they have no experience or qualifications for the positions they are being picked for. All fine and good because Trump has none either so that works perfectly fine. So did I mention that the common link is their loyalty and almost child-like adoration of the man in question? Didn’t Hitler have the same kind of adoration? Just saying.

Moving on….

Just then, Chachi walks back into the room and looks at me with confusion as if to say, “Where did you go?” Sundays are for relaxation BUT mine begins and ends with my little love, Chachi. Time to shake it up a little? I’m still waiting for Mr. Right to walk in but he’s taking all the wrong turns so it will be a while yet before he shows up. Until then, the little furball has my full attention.

“Sunday is a good day to save the world in one’s pyjamas.” Adrienne Posey

HAVE AN AMAZING DAY!

This Little Love of Mine

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It is a gorgeous and sunny day. A perfect backdrop for Mother’s Day. I got greetings from my son this morning and it brought a smile to my face simply because he hadn’t forgotten like he tends to do . He always has something better to do and “Mom” is usually the last thing on his mind unless he needs or wants something. It was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

Today, I want to talk about my other baby from another mother. This little guy walked into my life in the arms of my then boyfriend almost seven years ago. He was a few weeks old at the time and he was the cutest bundle of fur I had ever seen. Our eyes locked and he meowed reaching one paw out to me. I kept my distance. I wasn’t going to let little furball creep into my heart I decided. I had lost my rescue cat a year ago and I was still in mourning as far as I was concerned. It was too soon to open my heart again but little Chachi had other plans for me.

Truth is, I was lost the moment he reached out to me and his paw hit my arm. I just couldn’t say no and he walked in and took residence like he belonged there. We became inseparable from the get go. A routine has been established or rather he has established one and I follow. I am his puppet and he pulls the strings. My day starts with him waking me up and it ends with cuteness cuddling up next to me, all on his own terms of course. When he has had enough snuggles and kisses, he moves off to his bed with a huff or was that a sigh? Whatever the case maybe, he leads life on his own terms and he has trained me to follow or not to miss a beat.

“I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It’s not. Mine had me trained in two days.” Bill Dana

So had mine. If he doesn’t like something he shows it. Recently, I got him canned chicken to wean him away from tuna. He loves his tuna. Here comes furball, he walked to his bowl, took a whiff, snorted, turned and shot me a look of disgust and proceeded to bury it with his paws! After that, it was a battle of wills which didn’t last long. He refused to eat and I gave in and he got his tuna. He bolted it down with a look of satisfaction on his face which seemed to say, “Don’t try to change me! I am the way I am.” Sounds like some men I know.

Moving on……I think there is something mysterious about cats. It could be that permanent stare that never changes. They have one look for everything. It could be “bloody murder!” or “I love you,” but that stare never changes. Mine loves me unconditionally this much I know. Or is it the other way around? Today, he is giving me an extra portion of love. It started this morning with lots of snuggles and since then he has been following me around like a second shadow. Does he know it is Mother’s Day? I wouldn’t put past him. Cats are intelligent creatures, at least mine is and he has a mind of his own.

“Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you later.” Mary Bly

Whatever the case maybe, I am thankful for his presence in my life. He teaches me patience when I’m at the end of my rope and showers me with love in the most unexpected ways. A slight brush against my cheek or the “almost kiss” which never takes place. He stops short right before he hits his target, moves up and plants a kiss on my forehead. That is good enough to make my heart melt. He shows me that I am his world but I stop short of showing him that he is mine. I think he knows already because he has me wrapped around his little paw!

This little love of mine is fascinating. He is just a small bundle of fur but there is much love packed within that little space. It has been said, “There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.”

I’ve got the music on and Chachi resting by my side purring softly as he watches the birds at play outside. It’s a PURRFECT DAY!

Love of Another Kind

Albert Schweizer said:

“There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.”

He didn’t know at the time just how much truth there is in that one little phrase. My little furry friend walked into my life in the arms of my then boyfriend, in the form of a British short-haired variety and disguised as a birthday gift. Our eyes locked and he meowed his dissatisfaction at being forced to leave everything he knew behind, more specifically the safe haven of his mother’s embrace. He stretched his long neck towards me peering suspiciously at the human before him. I reached out and rubbed one hand over his tiny head and the purring that followed had me hooked from day one. 

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see him watching, his big dark eyes trained in my direction. ”What’s my next move to get her out of bed?” he seems to say. He has tried everything from his reservoir of cat arsenal and it hasn’t worked. Jumping on the bed hasn’t worked. Purring in one ear hasn’t worked. Rubbing his face against mine hasn’t worked and running one paw through my hair hasn’t worked either. ”This human is beyond my comprehension!” he meows and not too softly as he sits waiting and not too patiently!

Nothing new here. Our signals are often crossed but one thing is for sure, we love each other and there are no ifs or buts about it.

He’s been there through the thick and thin of life and everything in between. When I lost my friend the same one who had brought this tiny bundle of joy into my life. He was there to tamper the pain and make it lighter. I remember crying into his fur and holding him close. He took it like a champ even though I had soaked his fur with the tears that were running down my face. He was there when I had something to laugh about. He would sit staring out the kitchen window as I moved around explaining what had happened to put that smile on my face and he would look back with that, “I’m happy for you” look or at times he would look at me with that, “I don’t know what you are droning on about but it is alright.”  Talking to him has become a daily occurrence and we have an understanding of sorts. He has his world and I have mine but the love we share is of the non-negotiable type. It is there to stay and I can’t see my world without him.

Today as I roll out of bed and head on downstairs to make my first cup of coffee, he takes his spot by the kitchen window staring out at the world before him. At times, he will hear me humming and at times he will hear me whisper his name as I plant a soft kiss on his head and whisper, “I love you.” Everything is right in his world and in mine because his presence in my life is a Godsent and if there is a love never-ending, then this is it.

His name is Chachi and he is my love of a different kind.

“I have felt cats rubbing their faces against mine and touching my cheek with claws carefully sheathed. These things, to me, are expressions of love.” James Herriot