Wednesday, November 7, 2018

November IWSG



Good morning, writers! Are you ready for the Christmas season? Every year, stores start throwing out their Christmas wares earlier and earlier, but this year was the first that I saw Christmas being pushed a full week before Halloween! And it wasn't just stores. My kids' orthodontist had her office completely decorated for Christmas. What's the rush, peeps?

Anyway, it's time once again to share our insecurities via the monthly IWSG. A big Ho, Ho, Ho to our host, Alex J. Cavanaugh, and his merry band of elves co-hosts:  Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Ann V. Friend, JQ Rose, and Elizabeth Seckman!

This month's optional question: How has your creativity in life evolved since you began writing?

I was somewhat creative before I started writing. I took fine arts courses in college for sculpting, drawing, and painting. I liked to decorate. 

Writing, however, makes me stop and consider how to relate the world and my experiences in it with all the words stored in my brain. (Unfortunately, some of them tend to get lost these days.)

For example, this past month has been difficult. My dear cat, Mr. M, passed away after a long battle with thyroid disease. Our family is devastated. 




Mr. M is the third cat I've lost to old age and illness in the past five years, yet his passing really threw me deep into the dumps. Why is that? Unlike my other two kitties, I didn't pick Mr. M out from a shelter. He introduced himself to us shortly after we moved into our house waaay back in 2003. He showed up at the front door, peering in, and, being a cat lover, I couldn't have been more delighted than if a unicorn had appeared. 

I started leaving out food for this magical cat, and he repaid our kindness by staring into our windows and sliding glass doors with an eerie, Buddha-like calm, until our indoor kitty, Sidney, would wake us all from a deep slumber, yowling as if some fiend had broken into the kitchen and was chopping her into pieces with a hatchet.

After a few years, our fluffy moocher earned a name: Mr. Mistoffelees. Eventually, he decided we were trustworthy enough to pet him. But it had to be on his terms. I stopped petting him one day in the yard and turned my back to resume some yard work. Well, let's just say he went full-on assassin ninja with his claws and teeth into my bare legs.





At the seven year mark, I started letting him into our house. Or rather, he decided to grace us with his magnificent presence. Winters in Rochester can be very bitter and nothing pleased me more than seeing him snuggled up on the couch with one of my daughters.





As the years passed, he became more calm and less bitey around us. In fact, he became a total lap cat. I would lay down on my bed, bringing the covers up to my chin. He would crawl the length of my body and settle down on my chest, his nose two inches from mine, his claws kneading my neck. I'd rub behind his ears, along his cheeks, and under his chin until drops of smelly, tuna-scented drool plunked down on my face. Sometimes he would rub his nose all over mine. 

Good times. Great times.

He could have done some serious damage to my eyes or face, but he didn't. I trusted him, and apparently, he trusted me. This cat was well known throughout the neighborhood and had many fans, feeders, and providers of outdoor cat homes. Our neighbors have stories and memories of his visits dating back to 2000. (He once slid open someone's screen door, to let their cats escape.) He was Jasper. He was "The Mayor." 

Yet, for some reason, we were the lucky ones. He picked us as his home and I am so grateful that he did. 










22 comments:

  1. Very sorry about Mr. M. (Kudos that he was part Ninja though.) Furry friends never live long enough. And yes, I think they enrich our lives more than the other way around.

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  2. I am so sorry for your loss. Your Mr. M reminds me of a cat I had as a kid (minus the white). Bapbe (I made up his name) was a stray that just walked straight into my childhood home one day when the glass door was open, and he didn't want to leave. lol He would follow me to my bus stop every morning and then be waiting there with my mom every afternoon. When I would ride my bike around the neighborhood, I would come back the way I came and would find Bapbe running after me. He was like my guardian. <3 Mr. M and Bapbe are playing together now. <3

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  3. I am so very sorry. He sounds like he was full of personality. Rocko and Spunky adopted us, and we struggled with Rocko some days. (I never knew female cats sprayed - she managed to nail every wall in the house.) But when we lost her spring of 2017, I cried harder for her than any other cat. Little black rat stole my heart.

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  4. I'm so sorry to hear of your loss! I know my guys aren't furry, but I love my two shell-babies.

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  5. I'm sorry for your loss. We had our Kitty (yes, that was her real name) for 20 years. She passed 2 years ago, and I miss her still.

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  6. I'm so sorry about Mr. M. Such a gorgeous cat! I lost one of my cats a couple of years ago to thyroid disease, and now my other cat has it.

    Sending you and your family lots of love!

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  7. I'm so sorry to hear about your precious kitty! It's so true that cats choose their hoomans.

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  8. I'm so sorry you have lost your dear cat. There is nothing better than being chosen by an animal, especially a cat. They have the best of motives and a cat has impeccable taste.

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  9. I'm so sorry about Mr. M. He definitely sounded like a one of a kind cat! My cat Gizmo just showed up on our doorstep and decided to live with us. It's funny how I hear about a lot of cats like that. Sometimes you don't have a choice!

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  10. What a wonderful tribute to your cat. I'm sorry for your loss.

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  11. Sorry to hear about Mr. M.

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  12. I'm so sorry! It's the hardest part about having pets. He was lucky to have you! Touching post.

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  13. I'm so sorry about the loss of Mr. M. He was a gorgeous cat. I had a cat that looked a lot like him when I was a child.

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  14. I understand your love for the beautiful cat. He was part of your family and it's not the same without him. I have had cats for yeas. Now, I have two, both of them little strays that adopted me. They're getting older, but I try to enjoy them every day. My sympathy to you.

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  15. Cats that choose their humans are always so special. I've had several of those and each one became a delight. Sorry Mr. M had to leave, but he certainly chose his home well, so I have to think he was as lucky as the people who loved him.

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  16. I'm sorry to hear your cat crossed the rainbow bridge. Just think what joy he brought you and your family AND what joy he received being part of your family. You have wonderful memories to always keep him in your heart. I enjoyed your tribute to this special cat.
    JQ Rose

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  17. So sorry for the loss of Mr. M. I dread the day that my dog passes but I know it will come some day. Pets are family and their loss can be so heartbreaking.

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  18. I didn't take many artsy craftsy things in college, but I did expand my knowledge with a lot of liberal arts classes. I learned more from those classes and enjoyed them more than any others.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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  19. So sorry to hear about your pet's passing. It's so painful for the family. Hugs.

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  20. I'm so sorry to hear that, Tamara. He sounds like quite the character.

    I have a cat who adopted me as well. It wasn't as long a process, but I'd had my eye on adopting her sister when this little ball of fluff settled herself in my lap and fell asleep. She did that whenever I visited. How could I have a chosen another kitty?

    I hope your heart heals. It's the hardest part of giving our love to an animal.

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