January 15, 2004
comfortthe alarm went off and i awoke to the pleasant drone of a voice on npr. before i was fully awake, there was my kala, all up in my face...thisclose. staring at me with her big green cat-eyes and doing that purr-breathing thing she does...a cross between the two that is all her own. even when i reached over to hit the “snooze” button, she didn’t move. she just sat there contentedly, all black and sleek and gorgeous...studying my face and, finally, brushing my cheek with her little pink sandpaper tongue.
still nestled in the crook of my knee was my harper lee. i think he spent the entire night in the same spot...his solid little body shifting with mine, riding the movements like a wave and settling back in when they ceased. harper lee is my beautiful, tabby-striped boy. he’s been with me since kittenhood and he’ll be 12 this spring. sometimes, when i ask him a question, he looks at me with his ice-blue eyes and nods his head, slowly...like a genie granting a wish in slow motion. he knows exactly what i say to him. i know it.
sure, sometimes they stay close to me purely for the body heat. and because they’re strictly indoor cats (there’s just too much danger beyond my doors), it’s not like they have a choice to live anywhere else. but this morning, i thanked them anyway. one by one, i gently held each of their little faces, looked them in the eyes, and thanked them, out loud, for being with me...and for comforting me when i need it (which, lately, is often)...and for all they bring to my life.
what we have, my felines and i? it’s love, in its purest form.
—inspired by michelle
3:47 PM
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