Folks-
This is big.
We are now the owners of a four-month old kitten.
For those that have known me a while, this news is so shocking it is almost scandalous. I have never owned a pet, save the beta fish someone gave me in college. I named him Boaz, and for the record, I was rather upset when he died.
If you have been a reader of this blog, you know about the mouse incident that occurred in March. We had thought about getting a cat then, and were pretty close to it, but decided against it at the time because Brian had so much going on at work and we realized he wouldn't have any time to train it. Obviously, I wouldn't have been a good choice to train the cat.
After we had another mouse one week ago, I had had enough. I do believe the mouse scurried in from the garage when Brian opened the door, though I didn't see it until hours later. I further believe the mouse entered the garage one night when the garage door was open for quite some time as Brian was selling an appliance to some people. I had even said to myself that night, "I hope a mouse doesn't get in the garage."
Last Thursday night, I was sitting in our lower family room watching a movie with Caleb, and I saw the unwanted creature scurry in. I didn't scream or overreact. Almost automatically, I of course grabbed Caleb, and I also picked up his blue rocking chair and his nursing pillow (thinking to myself "no way am I coming back down for them"), and I flew up the stairs. How I carried all of those things I don't know, because Caleb wasn't in the chair. The chair was entirely separate. When I got upstairs, I also discovered I somehow even managed to bring up his burp cloth and the journal where I write down all his feeding times. That's nothing short of miraculous. Who knew I had such an ability?
I called Brian in a fit of despair. He was on his way home from his second job giving music lessons, and I told him to hurry home. I called my mom and asked her to pray.
I won't keep going with the story, but that mouse was caught in a trap. You'd think we could get on with our lives just fine, but no. Now I have memories of seeing not one, but two mice in my home. Something had to be done. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
The very next day, we went to an animal shelter, coincidentally in the same town where Caleb was born. We picked out a cat, but we had to wait about a week for him. We just brought him home today.
So it is a new experience for me to live with a furry creature. He is cute, but since he is a kitten, I'm easily startled by his sudden movements and I'll admit I fear for his claws around Caleb. (Oh, let's face it. I'm also afraid of his claws myself!) We will be very careful until we know we can trust him.
I will post a photo of him as soon as I can. Brian is with him now, and we are limiting the cat to one room so he can adjust a bit to life outside the cage. I haven't been with the cat much yet because I'm busy seeing to Caleb, but soon enough, soon enough.
His name is Pocono, by the way, and this sudden addition leaves me totally and completely outnumbered around here.
I'm hoping for a daughter next!
Update: Pocono is already proving his worth by killing a spider on the wall in the family room. Brian said it wasn't even very big, but he found it. This cat just might worm his way into my affections.
Yes, I still need to take a photo. Both times I went down to see the cat with Caleb in my sling, Caleb got very fussy and I had to bring him upstairs. I'll get one soon, I hope.
