One Red Hot Country Mama!

I remember when I was 13, and I playing in the woods with my friend. This was when we lived in the country, in a big house with 10 apple trees in the backyard. For weeks we hung around this same area of the woods, and sometimes we would see a cat. Presumably, it was a “barn cat” which was living at a cat-filled farm nearby.

The cat was black and white, with a pink nose, and it had paws with an extra toe. She still walked like all of the other cats. One day, she followed me home. I was lonely at that house. Although I had my friend, it was different from my house before where there were there was someone I knew behind every door.

My mom saw me secretly buying cat food at the grocery store a few weeks later, and she figured out that I was feeding the little cat behind the house every day after school. I remember how much fun it was to buy the food, and pet the cat, and take care of her. And I remember how much I looked forward to seeing her every day. And, even though my Mom hated cats, she let me let the cat in full-time grudgingly.

And, now my son is 5-months old, and I think of how fun it was to take care of that cat. Although the responsibility is 10x more, I feel that same happiness in taking care of him.