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Scaredy Cat

No doubt about it, she's adorable.

I wasn't able to have a cat for a long time.  Almost two decades, actually.  My Ex had allergies, and, unfortunately, so did the kids.  The last cat I had was Maxi, when my oldest son was just an infant.  We called her Maxi Pad and she was a real cool cat, but she must have licked leaking antifreeze because something was off and I had to take her to the vet one day.  I brought her home a day later and the day after that she was gone.  Ohhh, the tears!!  Pets have a way of sneaking into our souls and making the world seem like it's actually alright.  They have a way of making us happy beyond the stars.  They love us unconditionally, get us smiling & feeling good about life... and this Schmeigel... this little girl has captured my heart in a way that no cat has ever done in all my days.  She snuck in but it wasn't easy for me to win her over, I'll tell you that.

She was scared at first.  She had lived in the same house for 17 years, well, Russ had lived in the same house for 17 years and she had joined him five years in.  She had been loved by the family and had settled into her Kitty Cat life.  He'd always had dogs, so by the time she came to me she'd already been terrorized and had terrorized... lol.  She'd always been an indoor cat, too.  One time she escaped through the patio door and didn't returned for days... the family was devastated!  By the time she showed back up she was in pretty bad shape.  Musta been roughed up by the neighborhood felines... new girl in town?  Anyway... twelve years into her routine, she was uprooted and brought to a new place.  I hardly knew what to do!  She didn't leave that room for a month!  We finally figured out where to put her food and kitty box so that the dogs wouldn't have access, but she stayed downstairs.  The room was a catch-all, so even when we went down to check in on her and soothe her beating heart, she was hard to find.

Then it happened!  On her one month anniversary move in date, well, the day after the one month anniversary date... she showed up... on the stairs!  She wanted to check out where everyone else was! She must have been lonely down there on her own, but she had just been checking it all out... every square inch of that downstairs had been thoroughly investigated.  That's how cats are... they're curious and they like to know the lay of the land.

So she made it to (almost) the top step, peeking... finally interested... finally ready to see the rest!  Little by little... poco a poco... she built up her Brave, and as the days passed she finally sat on that top step... not the landing... just the top step - safety first I guess?  Still leaving that escape route open?  It was a start!!

This whole situation got me to thinking that sometimes it just takes a while.  Sometimes we need that time to grow accustomed, to let our heart relax and trust... and that's okay!... don't overload yourself by overthinking things!  Build up your Brave and take that first step!  Not ready to dive?  Stick your toe in!!  Believe in "when" not "if"...  I'll venture to guess you'll make yourself a whole lot of proud when you do!

More on the Adventures of Schmeigel next time...
Until then,
S.

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