Kitty

I don't come from a cat family. We were a dog family. My mother hated cats and while my dad liked them well enough, he was always more of a dog person. Pop never wanted to have a pet that wouldn't come every time you called it.

My son is and always has been a cat person; his father is a cat person that comes from a long line of cat people. Dan wanted a cat all his life and I said no all his life, with every move, "because we live in an apartment and we're not allowed to have a cat". When we bought this house, the apartment excuse was dead in the water of course. I should have thought it out better....but how in God's name was I to know I'd buy a house at age 42, when that kid was a sophomore in high school?

To do his share for the family, kitty has occasionally left us his little "contributions" over the past four years; a plump little mouse here, a tiny baby mole there....usually outside the back door to make sure we know it's from him.

Eewww.

This summer kitty kicked it up a notch. I'm not sure whether he's getting better at hunting or what, but one night he came swinging through the yard with a baby chipmunk in his mouth. I was horrified. I ran to the house ahead of him and barrelled in the back door, slamming the storm door in his startled little face. Poor bastard....he was all proud of his hunter-killer instincts and there I was in tears, telling him through the glass, "Mama loves you kitty and she's very very proud of you....now take that little chippy and put him back wherever you found him. Go on....good cat....go on." And kitty was all WTF??

Kitty's finale was the week of the 4th of July, while my son was home from school. There was a mouse or mole (or half of one....eewwww) at our door every single day that week. It was gruesome. He even brought us a baby bird that turned out to be sill barely alive....which we found out when it tried to escape by flying up the girlfriend's skirt. Good times.

Since Dan went back to school, there have been no tiny dead animals on my doorstep. It was obvious that kitty was tying to impress him and not me...but c'mon...what am I? Chopped liver? I'm just the one who cleans your dang litter box and feeds you and pays your vet bills and buys your dang Frontline and keeps you in cat toys and lets you sleep in my bed. Gawd.

So one night last week, after a loooong and frustrating day, I found half a baby mole (the tail end....eewwww) on the sidewalk between the garage and the house.

Kitty threw me a bone. So to speak.

"Quotes"

My life is so quiet now, with just kitty and me rambling around in this big old house. I'm not saying I don't like it....I'm just saying it's different. My son and I are still in pretty close touch with Sunday phone calls and an email every few days, but I'm getting a taste of what it'll be like when he really does have his own life.

Here are a few examples from recent email of why I think he needs a blog of his own.

And I quote:

"Last night I went grocery shopping, and I hope you are sitting down for this. I did not buy one...I didn't buy 2...I bought THREE items of the fruit/vegetable variety. I got a big slice of seedless watermelon, 5 ears of corn, and a little bag of apples. On top of that, a half gallon of milk. Ok...I'll give you a little break to stop your heart from racing over the sheer amazement."

On boredom at work:

"We are severely understaffed and as a result when I wasn't baby sitting the water leaks I was sitting at the main desk for over 4 hours today ready to stab my eyes out with a dull pencil just to feel something."

On justifying buying a digital camera:

"The camera is so cool and 'ultra-compact' and I think a good investment. For example, right now they have Mirror Lake completely drained and they're cleaning all of the crap out of the bottom of it. It's really crazy...all the ducks are like WTF?"

Responding to my request that he check out free AOL:

"Ummm....what AOL for free gig? AOL is Satan wrapped in pretty clothes trying to entice people to come party, then turns out to be a date-rape murderer...."

Kitty and I miss you, baby.