Mommy Speaks

Today, we have a very special guest blogger. Ta da! Introducing...Mommy! This is the mommy speaking: This is a very special time of year for me. All my precious kitties have had birthdays and gotcha days within the last couple of weeks, so this time of year reminds me how very lucky I am that these perfect little felines chose me. Today I share the story of how Grrreta rescued me. It all began on a rainy day in April of 2005. My life was about to change in the most magical way. I hadn't had a pet since I was a young child, and wasn't planning to get one. I was a bit of a workaholic and didn't spend much time at home, so I didn't even consider getting a pet. My life was happy and complete, and all was well. Then one day, I stopped by an auto repair shop and learned that the owner had recently died, and the shop was closing. As I was walking out, I noticed a pretty tortie kitty rubbing up against a bag of cat food. I heard one of the employees yelling at the cat and saw him throwing pennies at her really hard. I stopped in my tracks and demanded that he stop. He did, but as I spoke to him, another employee started poking the cat with a stick and making crude comments. I was horrified and insisted that he stop too. I asked whose cat she was. They told me she belonged to the shop owner who had just died, and that his family didn't want her. The receptionist had been asked to find her a home, but the one person who was willing to take her had returned her within two weeks. As I looked at that kitty's sweet face, I knew at that moment that I couldn't leave her there. I couldn't let her stay with those people. I definitely didn't need a cat. But, I knew that little cat desperately needed me more than anything in the world, so I told them I wanted to adopt her. I whisked her away to her new home at Casa de Mommy. I had no idea what I was doing, and I even caught myself sneaking up to her while she was sleeping to make sure she was still breathing. I was like a nervous new parent. Eventually I got the hang of it. In the four years that we have shared our home, Grrreta has taught me some of the most important life lessons that anyone could ever learn. 1. Napping. Everyone feels better after a nap. (How could I have spent so much of my life being too busy to nap?) 2. Kitty snuggles. There is no more magical feeling than snuggling with a warm furry kitty and listening to the comforting rhythm of a sweet rumbly purr. 3. Snacks. Serve them like clockwork, and never be late. 4. Sleeping at night. Totally optional...that's what naps are for. 5 Play. Let nothing get in the way of a good game of THoE, except maybe snacks and naps. On that rainy day in April, I thought that I was rescuing Grrreta, but as I look back on our wonderful life for the last four years, I realize that I was the one who was rescued. Grrreta saved me from a life without kitty snuggles, naps, and so much more. Kitties are sort of sneaky that way. They let you think that you are the one rescuing them, but they are the ones that rescue you and make your life richer than you could have ever imagined.