Mom to Four Cats.

My life is simple. I knew since I was a child I wanted to be a mom, but I did not know where the husband would fit in. Marriage terrified me. Ironically, I have a fabulous husband but no kids.

Now I cannot claim my four furry kids give me the same joy as children, but they entertain both my husband and I endlessly. And I do adore all four of them. Listening to a devoted pet owner is almost as bad as listening to a proud parent.

So bear with me….Toby is the youngest, my “special” boy. He wakes me in the middle of the night not because he wants to eat.

He wants love. Don’t we all?

He also likes to chew on my toes, not during the day but when I am asleep. When we first got the little guy I slept on the floor with him for a few days because I did not want him to be alone. He was so young and his mom was killed and he was the only one recovered.

Tessie is the next oldest, and her mom too was gone. She appeared in a box at a colleague’s house with her siblings. One died. She was so tiny. The first human mom fed her with an eye dropper and even wiped her bottom. I got her on my 50^th birthday.

Tessie is the Princess, a daddy’s girl for sure.

She plays fetch with my husband, only if I am not around. She used to play with me but no more. She’ll sit in his lap. You can only pet her head. She loves to knead and naps with me all the time. And she has a lot to say, eats on the dining room table and is rather shy.

Meet Mr. Buttons, my “needy” boy.

Mr. Buttons always wears a tuxedo, black and white short hair.  He walks on my head, needs to cuddle often and has the quickest paws around. And unlike his sister, you can pick him up and pet him anywhere. He likes to lick as well and every time he enters the downstairs it is as if he’s never been there before, and leaps over an invisible force field none of us can see.

Stripes is my “loyal” boy and the oldest. He hates to be picked up. Only eats Trader Joe’s cat tuna. Kneads and kneads and kneads. He is proud of his butt and loves to be scratched there. He also loves to be brushed. Nothing makes him happier than food. But I understand that.

I love to eat as well.

These are my furry children. No tuition costs. Food is cheap. They keep us both company and love unconditionally. I was never a cat person till I got one when I was a freshman in college, a fluke really. They are different than dogs but just as loving.

We keep them inside. They are family.

If you are a pet owner I know you understand. What are your favorite stories?

I am a full time yoga teacher, trained at City Fitness in Washington, DC and Willow Street Yoga Center in Silver Spring, Maryland. I have been writing poetry since I was 9 years old. Poetry is my first love and yoga continues to feed my heart. I write because I love it. I teach because I love it. I tell my students all the time: do it because you can. That works for me. I believe in creating opportunity. I believe in helping my self and others. I think faith is the most important gift of life, because when we lose everything else we still have that in our heart. I believe the natural state of being is happiness, or bliss, or Ananda. Life is a celebration. Poetry and yoga help me celebrate. Check out my blog and website here.

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Editor: Kate B.

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