A little patch of sunshine

I'd like to introduce you to one of my cats - Shadow.  (and before you start worrying that I'm one of those 'cat ladies', we only have two cats.. one for each lap.)

Like most cats, Shadow has her own view of the world, and she has very specific likes, and dislikes.  One of her major likes, is going outside.  She doesn't get to run loose, but I put her harness on and let her outside, clipped to a long leash attached to the pole on the corner of the deck.  Technically, she's outside, she can eat grass, she can chase chipmunks foolish enough to get within 15 feet of her pole, and she can lie in the sun.  In fact, she can't run away, can't get into any real trouble, and I do keep an eye on her (but don't tell her that).

But, this is New England, after all, and it gets cold.  One of my 'rules', is that she can't go outside, unless it's at least 40 degrees.  This, by the way, is one of Shadow's dislikes.  It's not the rule, per se, that she dislikes, but rather the fact that it gets cold.  On more than one occasion, she's stood there at the door, berating me for not letting her out and demanding to know where that 'warm place' is,  and she's not very interested in my explanation that this is New England, and it's only January.

This weekend, Shadow was particularly adamant about going outside; I was equally adamant that 23 degrees was not appropriate 'going outside' weather for a 15 year old cat.  Oh yeah, one of Shadow's dislikes is the word 'No'.   Things did not end well, and we each went to separate parts of the house.

However, a short time later, I came back into the kitchen, to discover this:

You see, while Shadow may have been angry with the weather gods, and more than a little annoyed with me, she found a little patch of sunshine, and decided that maybe life wasn't so bad, after all.  And as I stood at the counter, watching her snooze in the sun, and waiting for the kettle to boil, I concluded that she was setting an excellent example.  There are lots of times when I'm not happy, and I'm not getting what I want, and being adamant isn't accomplishing my goal.  Shadow's lesson is that I need to find a little patch of sunshine, and enjoy myself.  Sometimes, all you get, is just a little patch.  But that's ok...  for now, take it.  With any luck, there will be more sunshine around the corner.

Thanks, Shadow.  You're a good cat.