Welcome to another chapter of Grateful Heart Monday, where gratitude is always the focus, which for today is centered on the two new sister cats my partner Chris and I took in recently.
It seems as if I’ve become a big fan of cats over the past few years. First it was coming to unconditionally love and appreciate Chris’s female cat Driggs when I moved in with him back in February of 2014. She taught me a lot about loving those who many tend to struggle to love. When she passed from oral cancer in February of 2016, I missed her greatly and cried for weeks and weeks. In October of 2016, the Universe decided it was time to move on by bringing Smokey into my life. Smokey was a stray my sister found near a dumpster in Franklin, Tennessee. He and I became incredible pals from the start, constantly spending tons of time together. He followed me everywhere and taught me even more about unconditionally loving everyone and everything no matter what. I was devastated when a urinary complication suddenly took his life only three years later. I thought it was going to be a good long while after that before I’d feel ready to take in another cat. Yet, when my friend Lori sent me a link to one of her friend’s Facebook postings of two one-year old sister cats that had been rescued after being abandoned in the cold fall elements by their previous owners, I felt a strange compulsion to contact the person behind the posting. I was told they had been in pretty bad shape and were slowly being nursed back to health and I asked if we could do a meet-and-greet to see how they interacted with Chris and I.
So, during the middle of the busy Christmas shopping season, Chris and I met up with Ashley, the temporary owner, and the two Calicos. She had driven all the way from a small town near Cincinnati where she currently resides, to the Humane society in Bowling Green, a place she once worked at. It was difficult at first to interact with the cats, because I found myself really missing Smokey. But, I began to accept that even Smokey would want me to move on like I think anyone or anything who passes wants for those that once loved them. Two hours later, we opted to move ahead with the adoption, but chose to put it off until the end of January due to the holidays and upcoming travel plans. And then, about a month later, Ashley arrived at our home on the last Saturday in January with our new furbies, who we named Grace and Frankie. Yes, just like the Netflix show. And if you’ve watched that show, and met our cats, you’d see why we did that.
Grace is a domestic long-haired Calico who needs a lot of attention, often acts like a diva, and always tries to be the center of everything no matter what you’re doing. Frankie, on the other hand, is a domestic short-haired Calico who likes to do her own thing, acts an awful lot like a tomboy, and is quite regularly feisty. It’s funny how Grace reminds me so much of Smokey and the affection he showed me all the time, while Frankie reminds me of Driggs, a cat I once referred to as Cujo Kitty, that one day abruptly warmed up to me and showed me lots of love and affection, as long as it was under her control.
Nevertheless, I never once thought for the life of me that I’d be that “cat guy”, especially owning two of them at the same time. There hasn’t been a dull moment in our household yet since adopting Grace and Frankie. They like their space from each other, yet do play with each other at times as well, chasing each other up and down the hallway and throughout the house. Grace likes to talk to her toys when she plays with them, which is quite funny to watch, while Frankie likes to come up behind my head whenever I sit on the couch and lick and groom my head until she feels satisfied she’s done a good job. And I’m sure there will be plenty more interesting traits to enjoy as they settle permanently into our home.
Overall though, Grace and Frankie’s presence has brought some much-needed light back into our home, hope back into our hearts, and joy back into our lives, all of which being precisely why I’m filled with much gratitude to share for today’s Grateful Heart Monday…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
