Elisabeth is leading a daily practice of gratitude with her F.I.G. Collective this month, and I have been collecting my own moments of gratitude. Sometimes well after the fact, which is less effective in sustaining gratitude day to day. But we work with what we have.
Saturday, February 15:
Well, this day is a total mystery to me. I did not keep track of the things I was grateful for in the moment, so I have no idea what we did during the day at all. I didn’t write. I didn’t go for a walk until around three. I’m pretty sure we made salmon burgers for dinner and then watched Mockingjay, but I couldn’t swear to it. My moments of gratitude on this day go to long walks outdoors (I at least have evidence I did that, even if I don’t remember it) and cozy evenings with my family.
Sunday, February 16:
Carla’s sports lesson was cancelled this weekend, so we got to sleep in! Then I wrote 2,700 words in my manuscript while plodding away on the treadmill. THEN Carla got invited to an impromptu sleepover, so my husband and I had an evening all to ourselves. We browsed furniture stores, sampled perfumes until our heads ached, scrapped our restaurant dinner plans and brought pizza home instead, and then watched Longlegs together. I am so grateful for time to do the things that are important to me, that Carla has a friend she adores, and that my husband and I enjoy one another’s company.
Monday, February 17:
This was President’s Day in the US, so Carla had the day off from school, which meant I was able to sleep in again! I had a wonderful remote writing session with a dear friend, wrote a little, and admired the fluffy snowflakes that drifted endlessly from the sky. Then I went to pick Carla up from her friend’s house, where I ended up chatting with the friend’s mom for a whole hour. On our drive home, Carla and I went to the grocery store – she needed more Eggo waffles – and I was able to get my week’s shopping out of the way, and the total cost was under $200. My throat was feeling a little scratchy and the weather was snowy and cold, so I made a big pot of Mulligatawny soup for dinner. To counterbalance my very reasonable grocery bill, I bought a few pairs of shoes to try on (and will only keep one pair, I swear); we have a trip coming up and I expect rainy weather and want comfortable, cute, stylish, and/or waterproof shoes to wear while walking around outside. I am grateful for the community of parents I belong to, for feeling so happy to have my kiddo around after her short absence, for being able to buy new shoes, and for warm soup on a wintry day.
Tuesday, February 18:
I slept terribly, woke up feeling crummy, and ended up canceling my hair appointment and a meetup with a friend I haven’t seen in ages. My main successes of the day were driving my kid to school and then making a big pot of chipotle chicken tortilla soup (except I made it without the chicken – I added two cans of black beans and a cup or so of frozen corn to bulk it up a bit). My mom always says chicken soup is the best cure for a cold, and, while I don’t really like traditional chicken noodle soup, this spicy soup was tasty and comforting and lasted me all week. This day made me very grateful to my hairdresser for finding another hair appointment for me in a few weeks, despite her jam-packed schedule and to my husband for picking up our child from school so I didn’t have to make another hour’s drive.
Wednesday, February 19:
I woke up feeling rotten for a second day in a row, but it was okay because my husband was able to take Carla to school! Then I had a remote writing session with my local writing partner and churned out 1,800 words, and received a fun impromptu phone call from my childhood best friend. My husband has been such a superstar about driving Carla to and from school when it works out lately (mainly because she has an after school activity that ends right when he’s usually able to leave work), and I am so grateful to him for understanding what a slog it is for me to drive two hours a day and offering to help when he can. I am also grateful to my brain for working even when my body feels like a rusty trash can, and to my writing friend for encouraging us to get together even though we couldn’t meet in person. I am extra grateful that my long distance friend and I are still so close.
Thursday, February 20:
I was feeling well enough to go outside and take a walk, and it was so wonderful to be outside with snowflakes cooling my face. I am so grateful that this illness was short-lived and that I live in such a beautiful place and that the temperatures are warm enough in my area for me to enjoy being outdoors. I am also grateful for Carla. I feel like I spend less and less time with her as she gets older, but this night we all ate dinner together and she urged us to make lists of Things to Do Before We Get a Cat and Things to Get for the Cat and then she made some google slides of potential cat names and it was so charming and adorable I ended up letting her stay up way past her bedtime. (If you have a cat, is there ONE ESSENTIAL THING that you are so glad you purchased for him/her?)
Friday, February 21:
After I dropped Carla off at school, I had another remote writing session with my local friend. (Even though I felt mostly better, I didn’t want to risk exposing her to my germs.) It wasn’t the most prolific writing day, but I did meet my daily word-count goal and, more important, I got some backstory that has been pre-occupying me out of my head and onto the page. Then I spent the rest of the day cleaning Carla’s craft room, closet, bedroom, and bathroom. This was difficult and frustrating for a lot of different reasons, the worst of which is that I kept feeling infuriated with Carla for being so messy and breaking the rules (the rule she has the most trouble with is no crafting outside of the craft room), and then immediately even more furious with myself because she is the kid and I am the parent and I should be more actively coaching her through how to keep her spaces clean instead of willingly allowing the mess to get out of control until it’s so overwhelming she can’t handle it herself. But: I am very grateful to my mom, who talked to me on the phone for more than an hour while I was cleaning, which distracted me from my anger and self-loathing and caught me up on what’s going on in her life. I am grateful that I made noticeable progress against the mess AND found my favorite sweatshirt, which has been missing for months. I am grateful that I was able to take a quick walk outside around five pm and release my frustration into the crisp winter air, and that it was still light enough for my walk, and that I conversed briefly with a robin who wanted to inform me spring is on the way (along with a new round of Attack Robin issues, I’m sure, but let’s not dwell on that when we’re busy being grateful). I am grateful that Carla had an after-school event that meant my husband and I could have another date night (second in a week!!!) (this time we went to an Indian restaurant and then went to Target and Home Depot) (we are experts at romance). I am also grateful that we now own four giant storage bins in which to store all of the toys cluttering up Carla’s space.
My life is full of blessings, and I am very grateful for all of them, big and small, the unexpected gifts and those I normally take for granted.
If you get a kitten, a nice litter to start with is called Yesterday news- it’s made from recycled paper and is very soft on little paws. My cats use Tidy cat 24 hour multicat formula. Despite my trials of other brands, this is the only one that absorbs the smells well. It’s probably me – my nose tunes into bodily wastes very intently. My daughter likes the World’s best cat litter for her tuxedo.
Yes, a cat needs a few things- litter box, food, water- but the other stuff is fun. A fountain for water is nice- some cats prefer flowing water . The fountain keeps me from having to turn on a faucet or finding that my boy cat hit the water dispenser on the fridge enough to have it drip on the floor.
Future cat may have definite preferences for toys- kittens usually love rolling things. Others like the wands. A small tunnel can be a lot of fun.
if your daughter likes comics, she should check out Breaking Cat News online. It’s a fun, cat-centric series by Georgia Dunn. My whole family reads it in the morning. And check out her website for the short comic “Shelter Cats”. Funny and touching.
Sounds like you had a great week,even with illness. Enjoy your weekend!
Oooh thank you for the litter and toy recommendations! I will have to check out Breaking Cat News.
I’m sorry to hear that you were under the weather this week! But I’m glad you recovered fairly quickly. And hooray for some date nights with your husband!
We got so few things when we got our cat 10 years ago, but my husband is a major minimalist!! He did have a sort of ‘cat shower’ of sorts at work, though, which is pretty funny. so his coworkers got him some things for the cat. He is very well known for his adoration of cats, so that’s why his coworkers did something for him.
A cat shower! That is adorable.
Your Things To Get For The Cat List is priceless. Nothing better than a handwritten list, doodled upon, then used for something mostly practical. 😸
Thanks, Ally. 🙂 I so rarely handwrite anything these days! But I cannot resist a good list-making opportunity.
Okay, first, I snorted at “That bear has seen some things“! Second, I have an old sweatshirt that was a hand-me-down (I mean, not a romantic one), and somehow it smelled sort of like aftershave for years, and I could never figure out how. Good thing I liked the scent! I kind of miss it now that it has finally faded away.
Cat stuff:
*I used Dr Elsey’s litter, which I found clumps really well (so that the clumps didn’t break apart when scooping) and was not dusty (I used to use Tidy Cat but the clouds of dust turned me off). A metal scoop holds up better than a plastic one.
*Yes to the microchip, just for the peace of mind.
*Resign yourself to the fact that any toys, beds, towers, scratchers that you buy, it’s totally up in the air if the cat will like them. There is just no saying. But don’t give up on something too fast, sometimes cats want to get used to a thing before they decide.
*Remember that what you do at the beginning can tie you in forever, so don’t “let them get away with” any bad behaviors because they’re new and cute. If you’re going to have rules, well I mean first good luck with that with a cat, but also, start as you mean to go on.
Have fun!
I’m sorry you were sick. Hooray for snowy walks, soup, dates, and cat anticipation, though.
Cats are so very individual it’s hard to predict what toys they might like best, so maybe start with an assortment and see what your kitty responds to best and get more of that? Of course, that’s not what we did at all. These cats have more toys and more expensive toys than any cats I’ve had before (in childhood or adulthood). As our (almost) empty nest cats, they are quite indulged. That said, they love their cat tree. It has multiple levels and a cave and scratching posts built into it.
Your list of kitty items is great – and I’m sure the kitten will have you all trained in no time! (Ha! Ha! I’m joking, but it’s also true!) What fun! I have three cats and they have such different personalities, and they’re so entertaining.
I have no kitty wisdom to pass on, but I love the way you’re all prepping so earnestly for the little one’s arrival!
Two date nights, two yummy soup days, feeling better… nice haul!
Two hours driving every school day feels like a lot, Suz–and as I wrote that I worked it out in my head that the school is probably just 30 mins away (?), which seems reasonable. Funny how it adds up though!
What did our weeks have in common? I very much enjoyed the bonus day off and my sleep was a DISASTER for a few nights. Then two great nights of sleep and not so great last night. Harumph.
From what I remember you can never have too many scratching surfaces for a cat. FWIW we don’t have pet insurance. If we were going to get it now would be the time since we have a young and healthy dog, but I’ve heard mixed reviews. Maybe it would make more sense for a cat, since they live longer? I dunno. Getting a microchip for Doggo was a no brainer.
I have no idea whether pet insurance is worth it or not. It would have paid for Mulder’s chemo (which was about $10,000), so would have been worth it in that case. But it doesn’t pay for a lot of things, and the premiums are pretty high. I waffle a lot, not that we have a pet right now. One option, if you decide not to get it, is to find out how much the premiums are, or how much you are likely to spend at the vet, and put that amount in a high interest savings account every month. Some folks do it that way, and then if the pet needs something that the insurance would have covered, they use that account. Just a thought.
Also, I’m glad you’re feeling better and that the weather was nice enough to go outside!
When we brought Zelda home, all she had was a kennel, a food/water bowl, one toy, and a litter box. She’s very specific about what toys she likes (her brown ball and mouse toys with realistic feeling rib cages), so I don’t know that I recommend you buy a ton of toys up front.
I 100% recommend a microchip and pet insurance. No matter what, as your cat gets older, there will be weird health things. I wish I had it for both of my girls.
Zelda loves her bed and her cat tree. She does not care about most toys, does not wear a collar, refuses a leash/harness situation, and I have never once clipped her nails. Every cat is different, though, so it’ll be a fun trial and error!
I’m sorry that you’ve been under the weather although it sounds like you’ve kept busy anyway. My cold is taking its time removing itself from my sinuses which hasn’t been fun. I won’t go into detail. (blech) I have a cat; she has an automatic feeder, an automatic water bowl, a litter box, and a scratching post. She’s an old cat and not very playful or I would buy her some toys because kittens are adorable when they play. Mari isn’t veyr into it these days.
I’m sorry you’ve been sick, but hooray for FIGs – outdoor walks and soups and favourite sweatshirts and evenings spend at home and impromptu sleepovers. This post gave me all sorts of warm fuzzies.
Doesn’t clearing things out of the house feel amazing. I got a dopamine hit just seeing the picture of things you’re clearing out of YOUR house!
Well, sorry you were sick- bu glad it was just a cold that went away pretty quickly. You definitely found a lot to be thankful for! For the cat (I’m soooo excited for you) I agree with a couple other commenters that you can never predict what a cat will like. Like we have a cat bed, but both cats prefer to sleep on the cold, hard floor. We have a cat tree, and one of the cats loves it but the other won’t go near it. Kittens love to play, so your cat will probably like most toys (now that our cats are older, it’s challenging to get them to play with a toy.) I have a feeling your cat will get a LOT of attention, so they won’t be bored.
We do have a microchip for Muffin (the rescue place had it put in before they gave her to us) but not for Charlotte. And we don’t have pet insurance, which I’m sure we’ll regret at some point.
I’m impressed that you weren’t feeling great, but that you still managed to write. Good for you. Walking outside again is a treat. I ran outside yesterday and walked with the babies to the park today. Spring is coming.
A nice, sturdy, tall as you can find scratching post, and teaching the kitty to use it (literally showing it how to scratch it with its paws, they pick it up quickly) is a good investment of time and effort. Cats will still cat, but having a dedicated scratching area will help prevent furniture damage.
Ooh, the cat shopping list! Kim sent me a LONG list of things to buy before I got my girls; I should see if I could scrounge it up and forward it to you.
You want to have lots of different scratchers for your cat – my cats really like being able to scratch vertically (which is why my reading chair is such a disaster, sigh) so anything with height will be good. I started using Pretty Litter for the girls, which monitors their pee and I really like it (it’s expensive though, sigh).
They love their cat tree and both girls love very simple toys. Lila is obsessed with crinkly balls and Eloise goes for anything that she can bat around the apartment. Oh, and teaser wands are great. My cats’ favorite is this one that is, like, $3: https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Dancer-101-Interactive-Toy/dp/B0006N9I68. Da Bird is also a great cat teaser to try!
I don’t have pet insurance for the girls, and I always wonder if I should get it. But right now, I only take them to the vet once a year and it’s a $150 appointment so it doesn’t make sense.
I might have died laughing at the bear trying to climb into the sink.
Also, Carla and the plans for the cat. Love. Wish I could have one, but alas, the allergies make it impossible. I’ll live vicariously through you, instead. 🙂