Me Time

Inspirational song: See Me, Feel Me (The Who)

Apparently taking a whole day where I was away from my home, with my electronics silenced, was too much out of character. I played mah jongg this morning, and tried to get the pain of learning to be a landscaper dug out of my muscles this afternoon. And before I headed back home, I took advantage of an unbeatable offer of a free year membership at the Y. When someone tells me that I can have unlimited water aerobics any day of the week, then they have my complete attention. By the time I arrived home, exhausted and sore, I was treated to the true meaning of dogpile, and if there isn't such a thing as a catpile, there should be. I might as well have been gone since last week, as desperate as my reception was, and before I could reconnect with the outside world, I got texts from my mother, wondering why I was so silent. I must say, I feel like the belle of the ball. Of course, I did switch up the pet foods last week, to flavors that are intensely popular, so I might be taking more credit than I'm due for all this attention.

I woke this morning to news that the ringleader of the Bonfire crew had lost a furry companion. Her only cat died yesterday. She was a sweet, tiny thing, often overshadowed by her boisterous canine siblings. I haven't asked the circumstances; I only offered condolences. I suspect her labored breathing whenever she went outside was a sign of how close the end was. It felt almost disrespectful to go from that news immediately to my mah jongg master's foster kitten. But I did, and I couldn't have turned away from the kitten's youthful exuberance if I'd tried. I didn't try. I took video of the tiny baby, hoping that maybe in a week, my friend will be open to the idea of trying again to open her heart to a cat. I hope she can be. How can you give homes to two dogs, a rabbit, a snake, and two lizards, yet say this cat will be your last? I couldn't do it.

I have a lot of much deeper subjects kicking around at the back of my mind, but they need to simmer a while before the flavors blend. For now, I will stick with kitten pictures. The Internet is made of cats, so I am just being a purist.