The cat threw up already. It's only Wednesday, day BEFORE Thanksgiving, and there's some purging going on around here. Poor Roxy. She's not really purging, you all know cats don't do that, right? But she is suffering a common holiday malady: invasion of space and routine.
I love the holidays. I love time off work, I love seeing family and friends. I'm especially grateful to not only have my precious girls home from college, but nephew Zach visiting as well. We are knitting together a united front against the sadness of missing Scott. We are staying busy, either running around or binge TV-watching. And of course, cooking and eating. So far, so good. And, before you read any further...he is the perfect guest, he's family, I do my thing and don't stress. All reflections in this blog came to me as - yes - Roxy threw up.
Along with the college girls comes Isis, the college kitty. She's about six months old and cute as can be. She's gotten much bigger since leaving here in August. I no longer have to block the spindles on the upstairs overlook for fear that she will wiggle through and fall to the first floor, as she did in July. She has her own opinion about where she wants to go and which other animals she likes. Basically, it's nobody.
Now to be fair, the other animals either hate her or want to play too rough. (55-lb dog vs. six-month-old kitten, you know?) So everybody is walking around all stressed out. Except maybe Gordon, the big dog, he only wants to play! I wish it were easier and faster to say to animals: "You're in this together, now let's be nice to each other!" It occurred to me, just after Roxy lost her breakfast this morning, that the last time she did that was when Isis was here. My cat gets stressed and throws up! I know, gross.
But how different is that from any of us that are hosting or visiting over the holiday, and have our routine interrupted? Do we embrace it or does it just make us a little sick or even ruin our day? I personally embrace change of routine on my terms. For example - yes, I will have kolaches for breakfast one morning, but it's back to the cereal for me after that! I love people being around, having fun, especially if they are the kind of people that I can say "Do your thing, I'm going in here for a while!"
I hope that all my friends and any other readers and find a way to enjoy and celebrate the disruption of routine that comes with holidays on their own terms. My animal friends can't talk with each other and discover that they really don't have to stress. Roxy is growling at Isis as I type this! We can, however, be truthful about our feelings in a considerate way, and make non-routine days work nicely! Whoever you spend your holiday with, you and those people are a united front against the sadness, heartbreak and grief in the world. Laugh together, cry together, gorge on that meal together......Together. And no throwing up. (at least, not from stress!) Happy Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for all of you.
Showing posts with label cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cats. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Have-tos and Shoulds 11/2/13
What a week! I knew I was a little behind on sleep/chores/TV due to my manic birthday weekend. I didn't expect the compilation of all the tiredness/busy-ness/catching up to kick my butt all the way to Friday. But so it did. There is so much that I should be doing! I sit now, typing, waiting for cold medicine to unclog at least one nostril so I can try to take a little nap. How did I get to this point? I don't really want to ever be dependent on anything - especially to unclog any part of me!! Let's see if I can re-trace my steps and find what little misstep led me here.
Last Friday, 10/25: Got the flu shot. Generally a good idea. A little sore arm later in the day, but mentally anticipating wonderful health all winter while everyone else shivers, coughs, and sneezes. Perhaps it is to blame for this malady I am suffering a week later? It wouldn't be the first time that my superior attitude has made me pay a hefty price. Who knows?
Last weekend: Can't be to blame, tiring but wonderful. I did spend each weekend day in very public places, perhaps being exposed to new germs, even though I am an extremely careful hand-washer. For the most part, though, a wonderful weekend.
Monday: Ah, school. Nothing like a day at school to turn on the auto-pilot. Get up, get dressed, put on makeup, drink coffee.....I've taught meter a thousand times, and beat vs. rhythm even more. I was so determined to not let the busy weekend affect me (like an old person...) that I went straight for my walk after work, then went to the grocery store. I came home, had dinner and caught up on two sitcoms before watching 'Dancing With the Stars'. Ok, kind of an old person anyway, but a decent day. I always play Candy Crush while watching 'Dancing'. Near the end of the show, my phone just turned off. Never to come back on. Instead of heading to bed to beat the 11:00 hour, I was on the phone with Verizon, who had me try some phone gymnastics, none of which did anything. At that point, they said they would send another phone overnight, but it wouldn't ship until Tuesday, so I wouldn't get it until Wednesday. I convinced myself I could survive and went to sleep.
Tuesday: It feels weird to spend a day without a cell phone. I notified those closest, and survived it, but it feels weird. I felt a little sad all day, not being able to peek at social media and see what all my friends were up to! I also found out that I had done something in the wrong order at work, which would reflect on someone else. Of all the "things" that happen in adult life, I get most depressed if something I do gets someone else in trouble. Evidently, in the district, before you order t-shirts for a group, you are supposed to request a purchase order and guess how many will be ordered. If you wait until the actual number of orders, money and invoice have come in, you've done it wrong. Go figure. (It did make me feel a little better that an administrator had made the same mistake..) I felt down, sad, tired, and went home with every intention of taking poor Cuddles (also known as thyroid-cat) to the new vet. I sat down. I got sadder and more tired. I called my mom and cried. I felt the weight of all the 'shoulds' in my life, and the fact that only I'm left to do them. I didn't take Cuddles on Tuesday. I put in for a half-day sick day on Wednesday to take care of that and get some rest, or do some "shoulds".
Wednesday: Early morning choir! Yes, an extra rehearsal for my babies, to help memory for Saturday's performance. I just torture myself, don't I? Gladly taught the morning through, knowing I could leave at noon. Nobody had picked up the substitute job, though. That is not my fault or my responsibility. I followed the correct procedure for entering an absence. Somehow, though, we are made to feel guilty that somebody will have to cover if we're out. Guess what? I stopped feeling guilty about that last May. I am allotted a certain number of sick and personal days, and it's no body's business when I take them and what I do with them. The district (or better yet, the bosses) can get over it. One friend this week told me that one of the bosses actually asked her if she really needed to go to the doctor, and asked what she was going for! Pretty sure that's illegal......I actually hope they ask me that sometime! That friend has accumulated over fifty days, by the way. Anyway, as I taught through the morning, I felt sniffles, a sore throat and a headache. Whatever sickness karma there is was telling me if I was going home at noon, by golly, I was going to be sick! I managed to take Cuddles to the vet, first of many visits to solve many problems, then went home and rested. Got the new phone. It didn't work. Called Verizon, they sent another. Holy cow! Felt worse. Couldn't breathe, didn't walk, tried to go to bed early, another choir rehearsal awaited in the morning!
Thursday: Halloween!! Super Duper Rain!! Sure enough, very rainy, flooded streets, the 25 minute drive took 45 minutes, sniffy nose, worried about choir, t-shirts, many other things. But children? They don't care about any of that if it's Halloween! They only know that candy is in their future! I have this to say to all of those who nay-say Halloween based on any origin involving evil........for the past fifty years, it has been about nothing but merchandising. Costume and candy sales with the easiest target consumer in the world - the kid. Kids don't care who you worship as long as they get some Skittles. Just have fun! (In saying that, attending some of the church -sponsored 'trunk or treats' have been our most fun years!) So school was busy, because the kids have to be distracted from the fact that it's Halloween!! The t-shirts arrived, all work was completed, move on to the evening. I was a zombie. No, I didn't dress up. I just couldn't breathe or taste, so I sat back and let everybody else celebrate, eat, trick-or-treat. I set up the second new phone. I answered the door. I hope I didn't pass out too many germs with the candy!
Friday was an exhaustion day. In preparation for Saturday's concert, t-shirts were passed out, music and sound equipment packed up, last minute e-mails answered and sent, and all by sore, tired, can't-breathe me. I went home, and prepared for a nap. Unfortunately, I have to be able to breathe through my nose a bit in order to sleep. I will let you know what worked and how this ends. I got so tired typing all of this that I thought "No wonder I got sick - just think how tiring it is actually doing all that!" And that, my friends, is dedicated to every teacher everywhere. Just do the "have-tos" and maybe you'll have a little left for the "shoulds". If you don't, there's always the weekend.
Last Friday, 10/25: Got the flu shot. Generally a good idea. A little sore arm later in the day, but mentally anticipating wonderful health all winter while everyone else shivers, coughs, and sneezes. Perhaps it is to blame for this malady I am suffering a week later? It wouldn't be the first time that my superior attitude has made me pay a hefty price. Who knows?
Last weekend: Can't be to blame, tiring but wonderful. I did spend each weekend day in very public places, perhaps being exposed to new germs, even though I am an extremely careful hand-washer. For the most part, though, a wonderful weekend.
Monday: Ah, school. Nothing like a day at school to turn on the auto-pilot. Get up, get dressed, put on makeup, drink coffee.....I've taught meter a thousand times, and beat vs. rhythm even more. I was so determined to not let the busy weekend affect me (like an old person...) that I went straight for my walk after work, then went to the grocery store. I came home, had dinner and caught up on two sitcoms before watching 'Dancing With the Stars'. Ok, kind of an old person anyway, but a decent day. I always play Candy Crush while watching 'Dancing'. Near the end of the show, my phone just turned off. Never to come back on. Instead of heading to bed to beat the 11:00 hour, I was on the phone with Verizon, who had me try some phone gymnastics, none of which did anything. At that point, they said they would send another phone overnight, but it wouldn't ship until Tuesday, so I wouldn't get it until Wednesday. I convinced myself I could survive and went to sleep.
Tuesday: It feels weird to spend a day without a cell phone. I notified those closest, and survived it, but it feels weird. I felt a little sad all day, not being able to peek at social media and see what all my friends were up to! I also found out that I had done something in the wrong order at work, which would reflect on someone else. Of all the "things" that happen in adult life, I get most depressed if something I do gets someone else in trouble. Evidently, in the district, before you order t-shirts for a group, you are supposed to request a purchase order and guess how many will be ordered. If you wait until the actual number of orders, money and invoice have come in, you've done it wrong. Go figure. (It did make me feel a little better that an administrator had made the same mistake..) I felt down, sad, tired, and went home with every intention of taking poor Cuddles (also known as thyroid-cat) to the new vet. I sat down. I got sadder and more tired. I called my mom and cried. I felt the weight of all the 'shoulds' in my life, and the fact that only I'm left to do them. I didn't take Cuddles on Tuesday. I put in for a half-day sick day on Wednesday to take care of that and get some rest, or do some "shoulds".
Wednesday: Early morning choir! Yes, an extra rehearsal for my babies, to help memory for Saturday's performance. I just torture myself, don't I? Gladly taught the morning through, knowing I could leave at noon. Nobody had picked up the substitute job, though. That is not my fault or my responsibility. I followed the correct procedure for entering an absence. Somehow, though, we are made to feel guilty that somebody will have to cover if we're out. Guess what? I stopped feeling guilty about that last May. I am allotted a certain number of sick and personal days, and it's no body's business when I take them and what I do with them. The district (or better yet, the bosses) can get over it. One friend this week told me that one of the bosses actually asked her if she really needed to go to the doctor, and asked what she was going for! Pretty sure that's illegal......I actually hope they ask me that sometime! That friend has accumulated over fifty days, by the way. Anyway, as I taught through the morning, I felt sniffles, a sore throat and a headache. Whatever sickness karma there is was telling me if I was going home at noon, by golly, I was going to be sick! I managed to take Cuddles to the vet, first of many visits to solve many problems, then went home and rested. Got the new phone. It didn't work. Called Verizon, they sent another. Holy cow! Felt worse. Couldn't breathe, didn't walk, tried to go to bed early, another choir rehearsal awaited in the morning!
Thursday: Halloween!! Super Duper Rain!! Sure enough, very rainy, flooded streets, the 25 minute drive took 45 minutes, sniffy nose, worried about choir, t-shirts, many other things. But children? They don't care about any of that if it's Halloween! They only know that candy is in their future! I have this to say to all of those who nay-say Halloween based on any origin involving evil........for the past fifty years, it has been about nothing but merchandising. Costume and candy sales with the easiest target consumer in the world - the kid. Kids don't care who you worship as long as they get some Skittles. Just have fun! (In saying that, attending some of the church -sponsored 'trunk or treats' have been our most fun years!) So school was busy, because the kids have to be distracted from the fact that it's Halloween!! The t-shirts arrived, all work was completed, move on to the evening. I was a zombie. No, I didn't dress up. I just couldn't breathe or taste, so I sat back and let everybody else celebrate, eat, trick-or-treat. I set up the second new phone. I answered the door. I hope I didn't pass out too many germs with the candy!
Friday was an exhaustion day. In preparation for Saturday's concert, t-shirts were passed out, music and sound equipment packed up, last minute e-mails answered and sent, and all by sore, tired, can't-breathe me. I went home, and prepared for a nap. Unfortunately, I have to be able to breathe through my nose a bit in order to sleep. I will let you know what worked and how this ends. I got so tired typing all of this that I thought "No wonder I got sick - just think how tiring it is actually doing all that!" And that, my friends, is dedicated to every teacher everywhere. Just do the "have-tos" and maybe you'll have a little left for the "shoulds". If you don't, there's always the weekend.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Accepting Change and Trying Not to Break Things 10/8/13
Roxy-cat fell asleep on my computer keyboard yesterday. She pretty much owns the house, so that isn't a surprise. This is a cat that will smack a 55-lb. dog in the face if he tries to take her place on the couch. She regularly 'yells' at me if I stay gone too long - very loud, prolonged meowing. I've read that she is supposedly vocalizing her love, but it sounds like yelling to me! I think she feels better after she yells at me, like she's had her say, and it helped! She wasn't yelling yesterday, though, she was fast asleep on the keyboard.
The thing is, I wanted to use my computer at that time. She was in my way. So, I did what any good cat lady would do, I picked her up and put her down on the floor beside me! Only.....Roxy didn't want to get up. Is the keyboard of the computer nice and warm? Does it massage? Is she just obstinate? Who knows, the mind of Roxy is mysterious. Because she didn't want to get up, she held on to the keyboard with her claws. The inevitable result? She pulled a key right off. Of course, anyone might say that I pulled the key off by so cruelly lifting the darling from her nap. I noticed that the claw was caught, but the key popped off before I could let her go for relief. I wasn't too worried, I've put keys back on before. They kind of snap back on, easy, right?
I put the key on. I pushed. No snap. I looked at it - Oh! It's not the 9, it's the 6, turn it the other way! No snap. Little white plastic pieces underneath keep slightly moving and not snapping. It's broken. The cat broke the computer key. All because I insisted on pulling her off her spot, and she tried to hang on. Hmmmmm......
I can identify with Roxy. I get really comfortable with certain places, things, people. I'm pretty sure that I'm the kid that cried when I was seven and my mom get a new car. I don't know how I ever left for college....I think just to prove I could do it. I still have favorite t-shirts, blankets, jewelry, mixing bowls.....get the idea? I am huge on tradition and comfort. I pride myself when I can change, move, toss out, rearrange - because I know that doing so is a total challenge to my personality. I really prefer to hang on, just like Roxy.
Who handles change better? The adventurous personality? The rebel? The military kid? That would be a great study. I have learned to handle it because there were other entities forcing the change. I have never really wanted to leave any of my jobs. It just happened. I never really wanted to live so far away from family, it just happened. And I certainly never wanted to end up on my own at this age and stage, it just happened. I'm hanging on with my claws like a stubborn cat right now. I'm not cleaning out rooms in the house, because I want don't want to sell the house. I do know that I have to, and I will....I just don't want to!! (Funny note - we were going to sell it this spring anyway...) So let's just hope I can turn and face change with a winning attitude and pull my claws back in and not break anything. Maybe if I have a place where I can go and yell for a little while, I'll feel better.
The thing is, I wanted to use my computer at that time. She was in my way. So, I did what any good cat lady would do, I picked her up and put her down on the floor beside me! Only.....Roxy didn't want to get up. Is the keyboard of the computer nice and warm? Does it massage? Is she just obstinate? Who knows, the mind of Roxy is mysterious. Because she didn't want to get up, she held on to the keyboard with her claws. The inevitable result? She pulled a key right off. Of course, anyone might say that I pulled the key off by so cruelly lifting the darling from her nap. I noticed that the claw was caught, but the key popped off before I could let her go for relief. I wasn't too worried, I've put keys back on before. They kind of snap back on, easy, right?
I put the key on. I pushed. No snap. I looked at it - Oh! It's not the 9, it's the 6, turn it the other way! No snap. Little white plastic pieces underneath keep slightly moving and not snapping. It's broken. The cat broke the computer key. All because I insisted on pulling her off her spot, and she tried to hang on. Hmmmmm......
I can identify with Roxy. I get really comfortable with certain places, things, people. I'm pretty sure that I'm the kid that cried when I was seven and my mom get a new car. I don't know how I ever left for college....I think just to prove I could do it. I still have favorite t-shirts, blankets, jewelry, mixing bowls.....get the idea? I am huge on tradition and comfort. I pride myself when I can change, move, toss out, rearrange - because I know that doing so is a total challenge to my personality. I really prefer to hang on, just like Roxy.
Who handles change better? The adventurous personality? The rebel? The military kid? That would be a great study. I have learned to handle it because there were other entities forcing the change. I have never really wanted to leave any of my jobs. It just happened. I never really wanted to live so far away from family, it just happened. And I certainly never wanted to end up on my own at this age and stage, it just happened. I'm hanging on with my claws like a stubborn cat right now. I'm not cleaning out rooms in the house, because I want don't want to sell the house. I do know that I have to, and I will....I just don't want to!! (Funny note - we were going to sell it this spring anyway...) So let's just hope I can turn and face change with a winning attitude and pull my claws back in and not break anything. Maybe if I have a place where I can go and yell for a little while, I'll feel better.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)