Pinky Ruth #5

I decided I would mount a protest and hunger strike since my mom Maddie has been missing for 5 days now. I wedged myself underneath Lay-dee and Big Daddy's bed. They tried to get me to go back to my own room at bedtime. (They lock me in there at night in order to protect me from their own miscreant hooligan felines.) Big Daddy used his smooth-as-butter pleasant voice and told me how pretty I was. I stayed put. The loud boy actually had the gall to try and nudge me out with one of his Nerf guns. I growled at him. Lay-dee tried 3 times to woo me with a tempting salmon concoction. I turned around, put my rear end in her face, and stared at the wall in defiance. I WOULD NOT do as they wished.

Lay-dee finally admitted defeat and I watched as my bowl of salmon, my 3 different-sized water bowls, my two favorite toys, and my freshly scooped litter box were moved into the Lay-dee and Big Daddy's bedroom. They said I would sleep there that night. The minute Lay-dee got everything settled and left the room I came out from under the bed, stared at Big Daddy, and watched him sprint across the room to open the door. I sauntered my way back to my bedroom, my head held high, and watched with great amusement as they hurried to bring back my bowl of salmon, my 3 different-sized water bowls, my two favorite toys, and my freshly scooped litter box. I heard Lay-dee sarcastically mutter under her breath, "You're such a diva." (This passive-aggressive disrespect is why she will never be my favorite.) I am NOT a diva. I am a strong independent woman who does as I please. (#iownthem)

I ended my protest and also my hunger strike, my point having been made, and ate the entire bowl of salmon. I then spent the rest of the night banging on the window screens with my giant right front paw trying desperately to kill the moths latched on to the outside of the screen.

Signed, Pinky Ruth, #activistcat #whereismymom

Pinky Ruth #4

Day 4 without my mom Maddie. Lay-dee says they will be back in 5 more days. Do you know how long that is in cat days? SMH. I slept in the rocking chair last night instead of my snake. I spent the morning in the front window taking a bath, soaking up the sun, and watching the neighbor children play. I heard them say I was the prettiest window kitty in the entire neighborhood. They are SUCH smart children. Lay-dee seems very needy so I let her pet me a bit and pretended to be content. This afternoon though, I wandered around the upstairs and peed in those other cats' litter box.

#idontcareifitsyourhouse #rebelcat

Signed, Pinky Ruth

Pinky Ruth #3

Day 3 of my captivity with Lay-dee and Big Daddy. I continue to spend my days sulking in my stuffed snake under the bed. I did let Big Daddy scratch my belly last night and showed appreciation by wagging my tail back and forth.

Lay-dee then scratched my belly in the same exact way and I hissed at her. I LOL'd. But only on the inside. I maintained my judgy grumpy face on the outside. I did look out the windows early this morning and saw a bunny and some obnoxiously loud crows which I found vaguely interesting. Lay-dee tried to get me to come out today by bribing me with treats. I refused so she gave them to me in my snake. She also put a fan on me in case I'm too hot under the bed.

Treats, a fan and never having to leave my snake.

I'd call that #winning. #largeandincharge

Signed, Pinky Ruth

Pinky Ruth #2

 

Day 2. Where is my mom??????? Lay-dee and Big Daddy keep asking me in high-pitched squeaky voices if I'm ok. I ate all my food and peed in the fresh litter and only threw up once. I slept most of the day in this big giant stuffed snake under my mom's bed. This snake used to belong to that annoying boy who keeps shooting nerf guns in the hallway and waking me up. But now this snake is mine and it comforts me. I have put on my sad face in hopes it will make my mom come home sooner. My sad face bothers Lay-dee and she tried to get me to play "tunnel" with this giant box she brought into my room. To me, this looks like a trap and I refuse to show any excitement. Get rid of the box Lay-dee and just give me my mom. 

Signed, Pinky Ruth

Pinky Ruth #1

Day 1-Summer 2021 Pinky Ruth doesn't know it yet but Maddie has gone to teach classes at Holden Village for a week. Unaware of her fate, Pinky wanders the hallway, careful to avoid those other annoying cats, and waits for Maddie Smith to walk through the door.

The Covid Year

It was February 2020.

The husband walked in the door each night at 3 AM.

He was working an oddball swing shift schedule.
Somewhere between half awake and somewhat asleep I'd yell out,

"Are you sick yet?"
"Do you feel ok?"

He didn't have to ask how I felt.
The coughing told the story, which was normal for this time of year.

It was the usual tickle cough that annoys the husband, keeps him awake and seems to last for weeks.
Every year or three, this is the routine, for me.

I headed to the guest bedroom so he could sleep.

I really didn't want the husband to catch whatever

it was I 

had.

I spent a week-ish on the sofa. 
My energy was, for certain, sapped.
Perhaps, I briefly had fever. Maybe.
Perhaps, I felt a bit short of breath. Probably.
The urgent care doctor and the x-rays said it was most likely bronchitis.
I took the meds. Maybe they helped. Some.

It was February 2020.

This is what we thought.  

The weeks progressed and I eventually returned to being completely, probably, healthy.  But by then, our daily life had been upended.  Our work schedules had been drastically changed.  The toilet paper and the flour and the yeast and the blue Top Ramen were missing from the grocery store. Both kids moved back home. The college boy brought with him a 3 pack of Lysol wipes that he had yet to use.  We hoarded them like they were gold. 

And masks. 

We have them now. Sigh.

We joked about this being made into a movie.

We thought it would be short lived.

It was just a hiccup.

The precautions,

and the lockdowns.

Temporary, of course.

We hoped.

It was not.

It is now 10 months later.  

This will definitely be made into movie.

My February "bronchitis" might have been the Covid.

One kid is still at home; the other kid is back home 

for an extended winter break from college.

The husband and I are both essential workers.   

He solves big problems. I help feed the school children.

We wear masks the whole day.

And yet, we still go on. Luckier than many.

We still look for the good in every day.

Usually we find it.

I suppose this shall be temporary.

Someday we will look back.

Shaking our heads, saying, 

"Can you believe that really happened?"

We hope.

Fingers crossed. 

Knock on wood.

Hardship

Once upon a time, the husband and I experienced a bit of a hardship. * (see below)

Oh, I tell ya, we were stuck in a calamity,
our misfortune was most evident
and our suffering was clear



It began with the happiest time homeowners can experience:  the day the new carpet gets installed. The carpet installing men and women banged quite a lot as they stretched the carpet with their knee bangers. They did their job so well that they knocked loose a seal on a false wall in a bedroom.  When it rained, water coming from somewhere outside of the house snuck under the broken seal and into the bedroom...soaking the brand new carpet. A lot of presumably competent people then proceeded to locate the source of the leak.  The cause was "narrowed" down to a gap in the roof or the siding or maybe the window or perhaps, in the floor.


The husband and I were most anxious about this hardship.  There was rain and wind in the forecast and no competent repair person arriving anytime soon. And, the rain did come.  And, the wind did blow, I tell ya.   Soon, the lights flickered and all went dark.

So, now, the power was out.
And the house was silent,
except for the sound
of the rain
on it's way
to the
inside
of the

bedroom.


The husband and I made conversation in the candlelight for an hour or so.  We (me) then whined about being too old to be without power.  I needed distraction if I was to survive this hardship.  I found the emergency radio and tried to find a clear signal.  There was no clear signal.  All of the stations were all buzzy and fuzzy.....until, finally....one came through.

We could barely comprehend what they were saying. We leaned in, getting our ears as close to the radio as we could.  We turned the radio side to side.  We extended the antenna...this direction...then that direction until we found the sweet spot.


It was a political debate.

The only radio station that we were able to listen to was broadcasting a political debate.


We had a mystery hole in our leaking house.
An ill-timed power outage was making us cranky.
The grating racket of ever tiresome political discourse was most unwelcome.

Yes, the husband and I were in the middle of a bit of a hardship.

Oh, I tell ya, we were stuck in a calamity,
our misfortune was most evident
and our suffering was clear.








Our power eventually came back on.  We mopped up the water that had leaked into the house.  And we learned if we balanced the radio precariously on the back of the chair and pointed the antenna half way between north and north northwest, we could faintly pull in a mariachi band instead of the political debate.



I said goodnight to the husband and we joked about our hardship.
We both agreed we were grateful to have made it through this round of misfortune and suffering.
The husband fell asleep right away. 
It took me longer to fall asleep.
I wasn't feeling well.
There was an itchy tickle in my throat.

I felt a cough coming on.



*-mild annoyance