Mini-Vacation by Pet

For my mini-vacation today, I pet the cat--and I don't even own a cat.

For you pet owners (even if your children are the "owners"), you already have a good handle on the "Mini-vacation by Pet". When you're feeling down or overwhelmed, you call to your pet and the roaming, four-legged kind comes to share a hug or a brief tussle. Or you meander over to the rabbit, bird or guinea pig cage and watch the little creature do its rabbit, bird or guinea pig thing. Mini-vacation by Pet is a marvelous event.

At this moment in my life, I don't have a pet, so I borrow my neighbor's. In our neighborhood, a quiet circle of townhomes, we have the official neighborhood cat. There are plenty of dogs who appear regularly at the end of their owners' leashes, but only one outdoor cat who has made the townhome circle and the surrounding land and woods his personal territory. His name is Fritz. He's slate grey with snow white markings and a quiet confidence that has most of the bird population shaking in their feathers. He transforms into Fritz, the Hunter, hunched and stealthy, when he's on the quest of a squirrel to tree.

He knows when I open my front door. He stops what he's doing and trots over to curl through my legs. I make sure that his head, neck and ears get a lot of attention because that's what he likes. I take time to talk with him and feel the soft fur under my fingers. I appreciate his lean, athletic form and his long grey tail. He purrs and meows and we share a few moments of simple companionship. Then as if by mutual consent, we both move away, he to another neighborhood adventure, me back into the house.

And I feel better. Simple as that.

Have you taken your mini-vacation today?

Blessings on your caregiving!