Pembirdie

Tag: birdie

  • I (mostly) don’t regret my regrets

    I enjoy reading articles with titles like, “Advice I would have given my younger self.” Often some of the advice has to do with avoiding mistakes or heartaches that happened along the way. Well, I have experience with some of those!

    I could have avoided a five-year detour into dietetics if I had the confidence to stay pre-med in college.

    I could have skipped over two boyfriends and some awkward and painful moments that resulted.

    I could have avoided a year of long-distance dating.

    I could have gone straight into Internal Medicine and skipped many painful experiences in clinic + started making an attending salary a year early.

    If I know anything from time travel stories, however, it’s that my life would be a lot different if those things hadn’t happened. Would I even be a doctor? Would I have any of the friends I’ve made in the last fifteen years? Would I be married to my husband? Would we have had Lindy? This year I’ve gone on two road trips and attending two weddings that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t become a dietitian and ended up in Yankton, South Dakota. Thank God it was so. Not every instance is so clear, but it’s reassuring to look back at mistakes I’ve made and see how God has used them to bring good things into my life.

    Things I DO regret?

    1. Giving away my apple peeler corer slicer. At the time, the convenience didn’t seem worth the imperfections in the final product. How wrong I was.
    2. Singing a classical Latin piece for the final show choir concert, instead of a crowd-pleaser. Ah, the hubris of youth.
    3. Allowing Birdie to keep me company at the table when we were living alone together. She was already a trash panda but if anything this cemented the behavior. Unwatched plates will never be safe.

    SDG

  • It’s not my fault

    Pem’s main redeeming quality is that she is a cuddly cat, at least where I am concerned. She was cuddly with my sister, too, so it seems to be a fixed trait. She’s not constantly on my lap, but if I’m sitting on the couch or window seat there’s a good chance she’ll be sitting on me at least part of the time. So much so that I even make her get off (!) if I need to pee or do something else in a timely manner. If Birdie ends up on my lap, on the other hand, I hardly dare move, and will attempt to stay put for long past the point of discomfort, because she does so maybe every two months.

    Unfortunately, when one is sitting on a window seat, it is hard to type when a cat is betwixt one and one’s laptop. Not very ergonomic. Pem doesn’t seem to particularly appreciate the arrangement either, and tends to nip to express her disapproval. I find even gentle nips unpleasant.

    On the other hand, this is a perfect excuse if I don’t happen to write. Irrespective of the real reason, it likely played a minor role at least. I’m not someone to fail to take advantage of a good excuse.

    Well, I can’t write now. A cat is sitting on my lap.

  • Cats: needy animals?

    Sometimes the cats are more needy. Normally, Birdie ignores me for most of the day, and I only see her if I pass by her napping on a chair in the kitchen, or staring at me from one of our giant poofs downstairs. Today, however, she started with a single but declarative meow next to where I was sleeping on the couch, after she finished breakfast. She stayed close by as I got my cereal and made sure she was the one who got the leftover milk in the bowl. When I sat on the kitchen chair she jumped into my lap and demanded pets, and as I’ve been sitting on the window seat she has walked over at least four times and wanted attention.

    Strange behavior with me, but more normal with my husband. He is undoubtedly the favorite. Birdie’s favorite time of day is when he sits at his desk in the evening. She invariably springs onto his lap and walks around in a satisfied manner before curling up. If he opens the door that leads to his office in the evening, she sprints up the stairs to ensure she doesn’t miss him.

    I, on the other hand, have more success with Pemberly. Another morning, I ran errands in the morning and was on my feet in the early afternoon with a baking project. Pem stayed with me in the kitchen, occasionally meowing inquiringly and leaning on my legs with her front paws. When the treat was finally in the oven and I sat on the couch she got what she wanted: lap time. Birdie never wants that, but Pem seems to go into withdrawals if it doesn’t happen in a day. Today she has been on my lap five times. She is there right now.

    Despite their reputation for aloofness, our cats, at least, crave social interaction. If Melvin and I are in a room together, chances are the cats will be there, too, even if only sitting in close proximity. They come when we call, mostly. They don’t like us to shut them out of our bedroom. (On the other hand, that may be more related to how they hate closed doors in general.) I wonder if part of the reputation is due to their impassive faces, which so easily can appear bored, disdainful and unimpressed. Based on their behavior, I think their attitudes can be very different.