She's all that

November 1, 1999

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

Good Lord, is it really time to get up already? It seems that darn alarm clock is getting earlier and earlier every day. My bed feels so warm and cozy – flannelette down surrounds me in a wonderful nest. I blink against the onslaught of morning and feel the sleepy rustling of my bedmate. Luckily, she rolls over and turns off the alarm before I am disturbed beyond the point of going back to sleep.

She moans, obviously as agitated as me that morning has come so soon. She’s pretty diligent about getting out of bed right away, though. Me, I’m not so easily roused. I prefer to languish in bed, even crawl over to her side which is toasty warm after she gets out. She starts her day with a shower, even before the coffee starts brewing, she’s in the shower. I love to listen to the water beating in that cubicle, it reminds me of stormy days when I can curl up next to her and have her all to myself. Those days don’t happen often enough in my opinion.

Once she’s in the shower I roll out of bed, and treat myself to a long, invigorating stretch. Nothing’s better than waking up sleepy muscles with a hearty morning yawn and stretch! With that over, I wander into the kitchen to see if she’s left me any morsels to nibble on while she finishes showering and drying her hair. I don’t know why I feel compelled to do this, since it’s only on a very rare occasion that there’s anything waiting for me in the kitchen. I must remind myself to speak with her about this.

Oh, I can hear that she’s almost finished in the bathroom. That’s my cue. I wander into the bathroom and loiter around as she puts on her make-up and brushes her teeth. This is a good time of day for me. She loves to chatter at me while she gets ready for her day. This is when she asks me how I slept, how I feel today and reminds me how adorable I am and how much she loves me.

I follow her into the kitchen while she makes coffee. Sometimes she makes toast and, if she does, she’ll always share with me. Peanut butter. Yum. If I follow her into the bedroom while she dresses. I can be sure that I’ll get some serious cuddles. I can’t tell you how much I love those cuddles.

But now she’s off to read the paper, or check e-mail or try and finish just one more chapter in the latest novel de jour before she goes to work. I know this is the time of day when I won’t get much attention. Since I don’t have much else to do, I go to my favorite chair in the living room. I curl up in the chair and slowly let the morning present itself to me. Soon enough, I’ll be alone in the house and I can start my day.

As she prepares to leave for the day, she tells me how long her day will be and when she’ll be home. That kind of consideration isn’t lost on someone like me. She really is so good to me.

Once she’s gone, I head back to the kitchen where I know there’ll be some goodies waiting for me. This is something I can count on every day. I eat a leisurely breakfast while I plan out my day. I have birds that need attending to. There are plenty of them. It’s hard to keep up with all of them. And those leaves in the front yard, dancing around in the wind – I simply MUST give them my attention some time today as well.

The radio drones on softly from the bedroom. She makes sure she leaves it on so I have something to listen to once she’s gone. I think she worries about the silence that she leaves behind. Mind you, having music in the bedroom makes it very hard to nap in there during the afternoon, so I take my mid-day naps in the living room.

I have a friend that lives upstairs. Maybe today I’ll spend some time with him. He’s quite a bit of fun, and actually we have a lot in common. He’s the same personality type as me and we never seem at a loss for things to do together. Oftentimes, we just stand at the door that connects our two homes and wile away an hour or more. His name is Boy. I always thought that was a strange name, but who am I to judge? I like Boy, that’s all that matters. His sister, Prescious, isn’t so great. She’s actually pretty nasty. I’ve had more than one fight with her. I prefer to avoid her if I can.

Before I know it, she’s home again. I like the way a day can just slip by if you put your mind to serious napping. This is dinnertime for me! My favorite meal! She never misses a day – no matter what. I think she’s particularly fond of my “hungry” voice. Sometimes she giggles like mad while I wait for my dinner. I like to play it up, just to see her smile and hear her laugh.

For the rest of the day, I follow her around and make myself comfy wherever she settles herself in our house. I get sleepy after dinner and usually end up stretching out on the couch, or the spare bed in the office while she watches television or works on her computer. If I talk to her she’ll chatter back to me and usually giggle and tell me how cute I am.

Bedtime is a good time, too. When I see the jammies come out, I know snuggling is nearby! She doesn’t get much of a chance to get into bed before I’m right there beside her, my face in her hair. I like to stroke her face as she drifts off to sleep for the night. Once she’s asleep, I usually get up and roam around the house for a while. This is my time. Night. I patrol the house, make sure everything is safe for her, ensure no wayward spiders will crawl into our bed and bite her. She may not know I do this, but I do it because I love her.

Sometime around midnight, I crawl back into bed and lay next to her. The quiet rhythm of her breathing soothes me into a deep sleep.

Tomorrow may be different, but I know she’ll still be there to hold and stroke me and tell me how she loves me.

My life, as her cat, is a happy life.

This is Rembrandt. The rest, as they say, is history.

Home
Back to curl up by the fire
Ahead to more napping