Day 3 (remake)

I decided to rewrite this in the same theme because, well yesterday I celebrated the birthday of my two cats Alice and Catherine

Some people may say its weird. A lot would assume that it’s not a big deal. When I was younger, things like this may not have mattered. But then today it’s a different story.

I never really technically owned a cat before. Mostly our pets are owned by either my sister, aunt or mother, but then somehow I end up taking care of each of them anyway. Those two cats were no different. They originally given to my sister, but then since my sister was overseas, I got to take care of them and have full responsibility after them. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal except that, for the first time ever, I got to name them. Which explains why they are the only pets in the family that has such human names. I’ve always wanted a cat, and despite my allergies, I grew up having one. I even did the desperate act of “stealing” my aunt’s cat and taking it home, feeding it with fish that by the time they noticed, the cat was too attached to come back to their original home.

But let’s not get too far from the story. For the first time too, I got to buy some pet accessories such as a litter box and pet bowl and more importantly, a monthly supply of cat food. This is a big deal for me. As long as I can remember we only feed our pets with table scraps, and cats would hardly eat at all. I consider having cat food a luxury for me, like it was a reminder that I can finally buy something I want without having to ask my parents or feeling guilty afterwards. I feel thankful that, despite being jobless at some point, I never failed to buy cat food from then on. Watching my cats eat that food is an instant stress relief for me, and motivates me to keep on working at my job.

These simple blessings I have make me really thankful to the Lord. Those two cats arrived at my home at the time when I was in the middle of some serious depression caused by the death of my father, coupled with stress from work and from home, not to mention me beginning to have this late blooming quarterly life crisis. The first time I saw Alice, I immediately noticed his striking blue eyes (thus the name) and immediately my pain was gone, and my focus totally shifted from then on.

Celebrating their birthdays remind me how generous God is to me, providing me happiness despite the slump I am in. I feel like the celebration is a way of thanking him for such gifts, thanking these cats for being born and being in our family, as well as asking for God to provide us with longer years together. They may not understand these things that I do, while they eat their special tuna that I only serve once a year. My family may not either, while they eat their ice cream and cake. But I know, that the one who gave me all of this, the one who continues to give me more, knows.