we must confess...part of us is.. always on the look out for cats. our cat is happily with Mamo until we're ready for him, but it is so sad to be without him right now. and everywhere here - there are cats. cats on porches, just behind fences, prowling down the block. and there are cats that come running to us. cats that tumble down and nuzzle the ground a few times on their way over to us. cats that meow back to us. we are in love with all of the cats. we crouch down, put a cat nose finger out, speak meow and hope they'll come over. we worry this may make us a bit pathetic. yet... no dent is made in our indulgence of cat spottings and affection. time stops and some unique balance takes over.
we do appreciate the wise sages who look with curiousity at the humans excitedly taking notice and attempting to speak cat with them, but stay firmly rooted on their porch or lawn. we don't try to lure them. it is unlikely we would let Jeff roam free... and why tempt cats who are living so responsibly.
last night we decided that we would stay on for another month at the hostel apartment through march. it was a complicated decision and a relief to settle. we are trying to have a sense of stability while also trying to stay flexible to other possibilities. bittersweet. extremely and rewarding and challenging in the same moments - to try to take this time to choose how we would like to live our lives and gaining strength in being open (versus any umm.. panic at not taking the 'safe' reliable path).
so, while working last night, there was suddenly something in the window. we are on the second floor. my heart jumped up in my throat. then we processed. through the foggy window was a cat, all the way up on our window ledge. we opened the window so she could come in. she did and purred loudly the whole time. we were in heaven. lots of petting and nuzzling, then she toured our room, lots of sniffing. very soft and well behaved. we recognized her as one we see outside. i actually relocated her a couple mornings ago, she seemed to have come out from under the old volvo early the morning of the Small Farms conference.
we take this unique cat visitation as a good sign. we also just opened my make shift curtain, realizing that if she were to.. umm... come back again... how would we know if the curtain is closed?!... we're home! come over! any time! animal withdrawl!
simple happiness from fuzzy animals : )
