Stories

This past week I called and talked to my grandmother for an hour. Now in her 90s and in an assisted living facility, she had words to burn, telling me stories about not being able to find wedding clothes after the war, or having her mother make a dress that smelled terrible when wet. While she forgets names here and there, I keep thinking these are not names from yesterday, these are names from 60 years ago. She can describe in detail a train ride to Memphis or a makeshift alter for the first church service she attended in town, or the pink buttons on that smelly dress. She called my dad a pain for crying all the time before he went to first grade, she described bundling my then 8month old aunt up to go out, and the ten sets of identicle bake ware she got for her wedding that was the only suitable wedding gift in town.

She sits every day in the same room, her cat curled up on top of the chair by her head, and it only took me an hour to call.

She might talk about yhat conversation for another 2 weeks- her granddaughter getting her PhD in Arizona called for a chat.

Kittens

Kitten: a baby cat.
Likely adorable and fluffy, draperate for attention.
See also: dagger claws.

I'm a cat person. I like dogs ans pretty much all mammal pets, but my favorites are cats. They're independent, don't care if you're desperate for their attention or not, and kind of like dealing with cuter adults. Some friends in the cohort rescued and bottle fed a kitten that was abandoned in a construction site. Yesterday, I went over to visit said kitten, and she's so big! Compared to when I saw her last, she's active and fluffy and chases anything. I bear the scars of hand chasing which she was enthused by for hours last night. She eventually made up for it by falling asleep on my stomach and purring. So we're even.

Tonight, I attempted yet again to make friends with the apartment calico. She's beautiful, but terribly cautious of me. I talk to her every time I go get my mail and she is ok with that until I get about 6 feet away. Then she runs. When I went to drop off some letters tonight, I tried again, but she bolted. As I walked away, a new stray, a little teenager who is black and white with a little black splotch on his nose, came up to me begging for pets. So I knelt down to oblige, and within minutes, the pretty calico came almost close enough for me to pet her. We didn't quite bridge that gap, but she seemed to think that if I was nice to that cat, I'd be her friend too. With any luck, that little kitten's blessing will make me more cat friends.

Speech Christmas

After returning from the Land of Lincoln, I'm struck by how comforted I felt from being around long time friends. The way that speech usually works is that you get to know people over years and much of the time (as in my case) they stick around longer than their four years of eligibility. That means that the people from around the country that I "grew up with" in the activity all come back a few times a year to reconnect and judge the new crop of kids. It honestly feels like coming home to a family that has been waiting for you all this time. Open arms and honestly glad you made it. It had been a year since I put pen to ballot, and I have been so drenched in school that I forgot how good it feels to smile because you see a familiar face.

It's not common enough that people who know and appreciate each other welcome one another with open arms. Next time you see someone you genuinely appreciate, tell them, welcome them home.