A cat's life

If you know me well, you know that I love cats. I have pictures of my cats on my cell phone, I talk about the dead mice they leave near my car, and I often do impressions of their unique cat-voices. That is, I meow.

I have two cats at home. Twilight, an elderly Maine Coon with real cattitude; and Berlin, an excitable young "Tuxedo" cat. They are the lights of my life, even though they ignore me unless they want food or petting...or a drink from the sink. Twilight, that's you. You are annoying in the morning.

Berlin

As I watched Berlin leap to the top of a tall dresser loaded with tip-able objects. I predicted the tumbling outcome as she soared toward a bad decision. Four clunks, a crash and one de-clawed slip later, she hit the ground in a full sprint, terrified of the hazardous falling stuff and the consequential noise.

It takes a leap of faith to get to a higher perch. Kitty inspiration. She didn't know what awaited her atop the dresser. Sharpened knives? A pool of water? Curious as a cat, she jumped anyway. Her good faith didn't pay off that time, but I'm always proud of her for trying.

Grad school (and all the tough decisions!) is a leap of faith to get to a figurative higher perch. One day, I will leap high enough to sit upon the refrigerator of life and revel in my achievements. Then I'll take a nap.