“Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.”
Garrison Keillor (1942)
My cat reminds me about little things–how they are the important things.
Miss Bea is totally pleased with herself and her entire body while playing with a small plastic spring. She rolls this way and that and stretches to her full length to reach under the refrigerator to capture another hidden toy. If she doesn’t retrieve the toy, or convince me to get it–she gives up and moves on. Hmm, lesson there!
Although Beatrice (her full name) has been fed regularly since I adopted her, she always leaves a portion of food in her bowl. We should all save a little for a rainy day, right?
Bea is not afraid to ask for affection or anything else she wants. When she climbs onto my lap, I know right away that she needs “purred.” She is persistent until she achieves her goal. If a book is in my hand, she will forcefully try to replace the book with her head.
As adults, we don’t ask for what we want, but expect our loved ones and friends to know when we need help. Perhaps a cat can teach us something in this instance also. I’m not only thinking of physical needs but even material things. If your husband always buys “useful” gifts, why not tell your him that you would really love a special item you’ve admired?
A cat also lets you know when he/she is angry or hurt. Now I don’t suggest scratching or biting your friends when they hurt your feelings. But wouldn’t it clear the air to tell a person that what was said or done was unkind or hurtful?
To be clear, I’m not saying I have learned all these lessons–I’m working on them.
Just a few fun thoughts for today. Have a purrrfect day.
“Take a deep breath. Get present in the moment and ask yourself what is important this very second.” Greg McKeown
When I chose presence as my word for 2023, I thought it would be a challenge. But I underestimated that challenge.
I have always functioned well in the early morning.
I like to get up early and coffee is the first thought out of a sleep-dulled brain. One of the joys of retirement is the free time to sit, sip, and speculate. Newspapers are no longer delivered and that is unfortunate. A friend shares her paper–which comes in the mail–so yes, the news has already been aired the night before and that morning. The crossword is still enjoyable. For years I felt that I needed to finish that before starting any other projects. Without that paper arriving early, that habit went right out the window.
So, I usually turn to Wordle and glance through some email… Already I’m not living in a state of “present”, but veering off in different directions like a cat chasing a toy. Then it occurs to me that I haven’t had breakfast yet! I don’t have as many obligations these days, but I function better with some scheduling. Since stopping some of my volunteer work, this has been a struggle. A day when I have an appointment–even a dental one–gives me form and focus to the day. I will finish chores quickly because I need to be ready to leave. But when I come home, I feel like I’ve done something worthwhile already, and I don’t really want to start any big jobs. If I haven’t assigned myself to query an agent with my book or some other specific task, I will be bouncing again between Instagram and the notes on my desk.
“For me, decluttering and downsizing has caused shifts in my thinking and my habits. I don’t have to declutter; I choose to declutter.” Lisa Shultz, Lighter Living: Declutter. Organize. Simplify.
As to my downsizing, I started before it was truly needed. I moved to a small house after my husband died to be close to at least one of my kids. I went through an agonizing (at times) series of decisions to sell the house, land, excavating and farm equipment and many antiques and possessions that it took 40 years to collect. That move was not the end, however and a couple moves later, I am in a small apartment that feels cozy. I have to declutter at times, for in such a small space, a few items lying around look like a small tornado swept through.
I gave up a yard, a garden, perfect branches for bird feeders and acres to walk. But downsizing also opened up more time for the slowing down that is needed, and happens whether you’re ready or not. I live in a building with a multitude of older people from 55 years old and beyond. I would have been very lonely in my home in the country by now and probably unable to keep the fields cared for and the grass mowed. I miss the horses we had, but I miss them as enormous pets with enormous appetites and involving a lot of care.
Things change and you must change with them. if you don’’t, you will stay on the elliptical motion of day to day chores that go on and on, and become more and more difficult.
The downsizing has been down shifting. At a slower pace, I’m excited by the report that two ducks were spotted out front by our fish pond. I dash out to take a picture. I once had a very large pond and barely noticed the ducks in my busy years of working and raising a family. I watch for hummingbirds to return and study the fields to spot a new bird. I have dozens of pictures of the beautiful sunsets I see from my living room.
So life is very different these day—but it is still beautiful. Be kind to yourself, and to your neighbors. Upsize your living as you downsize your life.
A new couple in our neighborhood. Next plan—see where they have a nest!
“No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” – John Keating
It is time for some family members, friends, and I to choose our WORDS for 2023. We have done this for several years and it’s always interesting to hear what others decide upon for the next twelve months.
Last year my word was persevere, which means to persist in or remain constant to a purpose, idea or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement. I chose the word because I have many interests, but a hard time finishing some projects. I have two or three knitting projects that I have started and abandoned when other activities required my attention. Multitasking proudly most of my life, I have found that that is not my strong suit anymore.
Galatians 6:9 ESV And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. This verse was a motivator to me over a period of time.
Sometimes you have to stop and ask, “Why am I doing what I’m doing? Is it bringing joy to anyone or to me?” At this stage of life, I try to chose the activities that bring help and happiness to someone else as well as bringing me joy. Joy was my word a couple years ago. I feel I grew the year I chose that one. I gave up a couple things that had served their purpose, but were no longer accomplishing as much for others or bringing me satisfaction.
As far as perseverance, It helped me last year to stay on focus. In July, I had my first children’s book published after starting and laying the story aside for several years.
I can’t wait to hear your “WORD” and see what I can do with “presence”, my new word.I want to be more aware, more in tune with what is going on around me. Focus would have been another possibility for what I want to accomplish.
Seeking a slower, simpler life requires paying attention and being aware of surroundings so that my actions might have meaning.
My new cat, Beatrice, or Miss B. as I like to call her, is providing lots of playful fun for both of us. She finds great enjoyment in watching my wash spinning around in the washer or watching birds or fish on the TV or my computer. She is always “in the moment!”
It seems like it’s time to rework my identity again.
I have become a great grandmother! A little boy named Henry
Has enriched my life immeasurably. He arrived several weeks early,
which kept the whole family in hopeful prayer for weeks.
He is home, thriving and of course–adorable.
And in other areas: Big News for this GGMa.
My other news is about my new author hat. I will wear it proudly after toying with a story for several years, starting and stopping, finding and losing a couple of illustrators, and finally seeing my book in print. The image above is from Amazon where you can purchase this children’s book. It is based on a true story of my former neighbor, Gloria, a young girl, and two cats.
So happy to join you all here on my blog again. For those few who actually like rhymes:
Willow, Willow, where art thou Willow? (My cat, remember?)
Are you hiding under the bed? Or perched on a kitchen chair?
There's no doubt you're here still,
For your hair is everywhere.
You play mean tricks on me,
In the middle of the night.
From tangling in the venetian blinds-
To turning on the light.
The light is a touch lamp on the dresser,
So it's easy for Willow to manage,
And I was sound asleep,
Which worked to her advantage.
As I jerked awake and swung my arms about,
She seemed to find this funny,
So she jumped on my neck and pinned me down,
My mood was far from sunny!
I can't stay mad though because,
With her wide-eyed stare, she's adorable.
She is so pretty and amusing,
Though I find her behavior deplorable.
The last few weeks have been challenging. I have struggled with my choices. I wanted to free up some time, but the activities that took up my time are all worthy pursuits. Once before I stopped my nursing license, then renewed it for the pandemic. I had a much easier decision when I gave up my anesthesia credentials as a CRNA. I knew that at my age, even 12 years ago, I had no business staying in the operating room as an anesthetist. Although COVID-19 is not over, it is much more manageable now. So I stepped back from a volunteer clinic and I am doing less vaccinations now…
What should I concentrate on now? No one knows their expiration date, but getting older has definitely brought it to my mind more often. I am soon to be a great-grandmother and I find that so exciting. I question if I’ve made any positive impressions on my family that will be remembered. I also want to be remembered as someone who enjoyed her life and had fun, faith, and valued family.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.–Anne Lamott, writer.
I’ve been thinking about the new year coming up, which led to thinking about the past. There are many famous and not-so-famous remarks about history. People say you can’t hold on to the past, and you should forget it and move on. Like my family once commented about Kansas–it’s best seen in the rearview mirror. However, the past helped to make me who I am now.
“The past is a stepping stone, not a millstone.”
Robert Plant
The joyful moments, the frightening occurrences, and the sad times contained lessons that I’ve drawn on years later. What you do with those lessons makes all the difference in handling the present.
Most cars today are equipped with backup cameras. You view your area and check the backup camera for any obstacles, and seeing none–you act and move the car out of the garage or a parking space and proceed. So it is with the year behind us, indeed the past two years, we lived through them, learned a lot, and hopefully, we are entering a new time of hope and healthy recovery.
I pray it may be so. #love,#comments#conversation#faith
The words belong to a popular song written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross for the 1955 musical Damn Yankees. I often felt my furry friend was aptly named. I moved to a new area a couple years after my husband died. New neighborhood–new pet seemed like a great idea.I had lost my lovable Chocolate Lab the year before.,My four granddaughters who lived closest to me helped me choose a pup. They and then I fell in love with Pug puppies we saw on the internet. We picked up a chubby ten-week-old Pug that became my constant companion. Lola was perfect for me. She was funny and loving and loyal. I got used to her being wherever I was in the house and later in an apartment. She comforted me with her snuggles when I left an unhappy situation and she kept me busy and occupied when I was lonesome during the early days of the COVID pandemic. Lately, typical of older pets, Lola spent more time sleeping, only occasionally moved to play with her toys. But she never lost her love of people. Extremely social, she would drag me toward people I didn’t know outside my building with her tail wagging, and seemingly saying “Hey, I’m here! I’d like to get to know you.” She could be annoying with her television habit. She would react and bark at any animals on the TV. Once she aged to around 11, Lola became deaf so trying to quiet her during her TV watching was difficult. I took her to the Emergency Vet Hospital on Sunday because she was having difficulty breathing and her abdomen seemed distended. She fell over in the dog yard and could walk only a few steps and would lay down, completely spent. She ate and drank normally even then. In the hospital, the ultrasound showed a tumor which seemed to be in her spleen. There was to be a further scan of some sort the next morning and possible surgery if the growth was confined to the spleen. At thirteen, she had been strong, but I knew I would have a difficult decision to make. At three a.m. she ate chicken and the staff said she seemed more comfortable, but at the next check–she was gone. Lola was a stubborn girl. I think she heard talk of surgery and thought, “Nope, not doin’that” She died on her own terms and took away my problem of deciding her fate. For that I have to be thankful.
I am so sad and nothing looks normal in my home. Without her toys, her dish, her bed. All who have ever lost a pet know what I’m talking about. I thank God for the 13 years and 3 months of her life which blessed me every day. Rest in peace dear Lola.
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