Life takes me by surprise. This post has been on my mind for a while now. Tonight, I finally open up my blog to write and discover almost a year has gone by since my last post. How did that happen? I seem to ask myself that question a lot. Somewhere in between trying to accommodate a lot of everyones, I end up finding myself in the most, well, shall we say awkward?, positions.
Here's a wonderful example of said awkward positions. My husband and I would climb into bed every night. (For those of you with dirty minds, this is not going where you think it is!) We don't have a television in our room, but my husband likes to curl up with his laptop and watch something before falling asleep. (For those of you who are thinking that this is the same end result as having a television, yes, I agree. However, this is not the point to this discussion, so we'll table that until another day. Now, where was I?) Inevitably, he falls asleep with the earbuds in his ears and the laptop laying next to me. Which means that he's taken over about 2/3 of the real estate in our bed. Then comes the cat. The cat likes to sleep curled up next to me, so there I am sandwiched between cat and Macbook. Don't want to wake my husband on the right side and don't want to disturb the cat on the left side. Instead, I awkwardly lay there for hours attempting to sleep without making anyone else uncomfortable. See the dilemma here?
There is no doubt in my mind that I have mentioned our cat in previous posts. Jingizu was a hand-me-down cat with a hand-me-down personality. While intensely loyal and friendly with our family, she was not fond of outsiders. Therefore, most people were not particularly fond of our cat. Despite her lack of popularity, we rather liked her unique traits and flair for life. I can say with great confidence that I have never had a cat like her nor am I ever likely to again.
It came as quite a shock one day when I received a phone call from my husband saying he had just found our cat and she was deceased. Awkward sleeping arrangements, short temper and uncomfortable social gatherings aside, she was my cat and I was going to miss her. The sad truth is that I allow myself to be caught in these awkward situations because in the moment it just doesn't seem that bad being uncomfortable if it means I get to curl up with the cat or watch my husband sleep undisturbed. It's rather like letting your baby continue to sleep on even though your arm has fallen asleep an hour ago. Totally worth the uncomfortable moment for the pure joy of the moment.
As I write this post, it has now been several months since the death of our cat. It's always good to know life goes on. Which indeed it does. My son, who is never short of an idea, decided that since our cat was no longer around, it was time to get a puppy. I managed to push this decision off for several months. However, on my daughter's birthday, I found myself at the shelter the new owner of not only a puppy, but also a brand new kitten. Surprise!
For the past two weeks I have been actively engaged in teaching our new pets where to dispose of their waste, breaking up fights between the two of them, bringing them two hours round trip to the shelter to take care of required visits, hauling them to the vet to cure kennel cough, cleaning the carpet when they didn't find the proper place to do their business and numerous other activities which any pet owner can identify with. As if it wasn't bad enough that I have been trying to potty train my children, I now have two pets to throw into the mix. When I find a puddle on the floor these days, I am never quite sure if the sippy cup leaked, my daughter had an accident or if it was one of our furry offenders.
Believe me, I have asked myself repeatedly how I ended up in this position. I can assure one and all that I did not particularly want a new pet. Yet, somehow, I find myself laying in bed tonight with a kitten attempting to nurse on my neck and a puppy dog with a crate that needs to be cleaned. I know I did this because I just couldn't bear to disappoint my children who have been asking for a puppy for close to two years now. Despite the fact that I knew I was going to be caring for them. So once again, I find myself between a cat and Macbook.
