In my thoughts at the moment: my cat Grace.
A stray abandoned and left in a boxwood bush at my creative space a year and seven months ago, everything about he has changed since that time.
As I develop skills to upload photos I will include one of her. To describe her in words, she is a Tabby-Torby with strong markings and large patches of rust on her coat. Her eyes are now yellow and she has one wonky claw that is frequently snagged on something. The carpet has many places where the thread has been pulled.
Grace was an answered prayer that I had prayed the day before. Not having asked for what to do with her after I got her, her arrival sent me scurrying to the dollar store for box and litter and food, and then to the Veterinarian to have her checked and given the necessary shots.
Then, because she was covered in fleas, ticks and dirt, a Dawn bath was called for. One tub of warm water for wetting and lathering in Dawn. Wow O Wow how the water surface was covered in dead fleas and ticks while the dirt sank to the bottom. My how she howled!
Then she was rinsed in another tub of warm water. It browned immediately with more dirt and more fleas and ticks. Dead. Amazing stuff that Dawn.
Across the days and months from then until now, she had more shots, was spayed, and got to know her home, and me and the few visitors we have every so often.
Each and every day she has made me laugh. There is a reason cat videos get watched two million times an hour. She has made me calm. My heart has swelled with Love. Every day she shows me some something that reminds of an immensity
Every day she shows me some something that reminds of an immensity of the Cat’s intellect. The encyclopaedias report that the most average of average cats has two hundred million olfactory cells so it would go on to reason that there must be an intellect to go with that nose’s ability.
When Grace sees that I am about to leave, she hops into the seat of a chair near the door. Her tail is wrapped around her paws, and in one smooth move she stretches up and tips her nose as if seeking a scent. I bend and briefly we touch noses.
The heart swell from that nose bump will last until the next time we see one another.
Abbey of Gratitude 