Family Time

Posted by MSW on Jun 8, 2011 in Be Present, Blog | 3 comments

My pets come together each morning and bestow their affection on me at the most inopportune of places and times.

My street puppy Cenizo follows me around all the time.

At first I thought it was insecurity. It’s a big world out there and as Dad I offer sense of safety. But then he started to get brave, and now if left off the leash the distance I can walk before he’ll race to catch up to me is getting greater and greater. Then I thought it was curiosity. Inevitably if I was doing something (particularly at ground level) he not only wanted to know what I was up to with sniffing-inquisitiveness, he usually disruptively walked right through the middle of whatever ‘it’ was.

Then I adopted a street kitten, Pepe, and I’m sure I saw jealously in his sad puppy eyes. Everywhere I’d go he’d follow closer than normal in order to keep between myself and the kitten.

Now, he’s settled into affection, of that I’m sure. He’s less obedient on the street and on the leash than he ever was but in the house he’s taken to resting on my feet even if the location isn’t exactly appropriate. For example, taking his cue from the kitten who regularly sits on my lap while I type (he’s here now), Cenizo is resting under my desk his head atop my feet (he’s there now). Less convenient is when I’m at the stove preparing my dinner and he does the same – cementing my feet in place with his weight – but most amusing is the morning ritual both pets have adopted:

It starts with Cenizo launching his upper body at the bed I’m slumbering in and bringing both paws onto the mattress with a vibrating thud. That’s my alarm clock. It used to be 6am on the dot, I’m lucky now that it’s shifted to 7am. (Light blocking curtains work wonders). The kitten who started the night in his basket/bed always ends it on my bed. He too is woken by Cenizo’s weighty pounce, often because he’s the target. The kitten then races over me to the opposing side of the bed, Cenizo races too – around the bed – and pounces again. Pepe clambers back over me and Cenizo follows. Run, repeat, run. This continues until I get up to go to the bathroom.

It’s here, while I am sitting on the toilet wanting nothing more than a bit of privacy, that both cat and dog huddle in for some family time. Cenizo lovingly lays himself across my feet and the kitten walks back and forth along the counter, rubbing himself against my shoulder and purring. A strange place for family time, but every morning that’s where we gather … and every morning I tell them the same thing: “Guys I appreciate the affection and attention but I don’t plan on being here very long.”