Friday, December 27, 2013

June Cleaver With Cats

Am I the only one that is relieved when Christmas is over?  I found myself mildly sick the week before Christmas and only when it became "Christmas Crunch Time" did I recognize how really crappy I  felt.  By that time, I was expected to be June Cleaver with things baking, presents wrapped and the house smelling like gingerbread.   I had a low-grade fever and was feeling resentful with a pasted smile on my face.  

No wonder I'm so relieved when Christmas is over!!

Today was the first somewhat normal rescue day.  We went to the low-kill shelter and rescued 7 or 8 cats.   I think we only rescued 2 older kittens and the rest were really sweet adult cats.  It felt good to be there and rescuing with the least amount of stress.  I didn't really feel like we were leaving behind anyone to die and the staff was happy to see us.

I have two sick kittens in my "kitten room".  Colourful snot and various sounds of snorting and sneezing permeate the walls.  I've been so busy that I haven't been able to spend  as much time with these two cuties as I would've liked, so now when I go into the room they look at me like, "HOLY SHIT!  RUN!  She's going to put stuff in our eyes and squirt gunk down our throats!!! ARGH!!!!"   Poor guys -- I need to lay down with them and read a book or something.

Every year on Boxing Day (December 26th), we meet with David's extended family for some holiday catching up.  They're really a lovely family and I really enjoy them.  But every time we're together the very first question that is asked is, "So Beth.  How many cats do you have now?"  It's like out of a commercial or something - forks drop to the plates, the the usual murmurs of conversations subside. "How many, Beth?"  Seriously - no matter what number I would say, they all exclaim "WHOA!!!!!"   Sometimes I feel like the family freak show that they talk about after we leave.  As we walk down the driveway, I can almost hear them say, "David should've stayed married to Gaylle...they only had 1 dog then!"  Blah blah blah.

Ooo.  My insecurities are showing!  What would June Cleaver say?






 

6 comments:

Robyn said...

When we're asked that question, my husband just smiles and says "That's not important." :)

Debbie said...

When people ask me how many dogs we have, (our own and fosters and guide dog in training) We replied, only 5 !!Plus our 2 cats and 2 foster cats . They think we are crazy, I think this is normal.
So I figure , what ever works for you is just fine !!!
Take a deep breath and enjoy the new year !!

Random Felines said...

pfffft - rescue numbers excuse you from all of the above. :) hope you are feeling better - and yay for the rescues!!

Renee said...

I go with "we try not to count".

Anonymous said...

"We try not to count" ... that's perfect! I'm definitely using that one next time. :)

Tina said...

You're not alone Beth! Before I started fostering the most I had at one time were 3 and now I have 7 and 1 foster cat. I held off telling my family. They thought 2 of the 7 were fosters for awhile. In my defense I fostered them for a year before deciding to keep them. They had been up to Petco half a dozen times but no luck. So my husband said they're part of the family now since they've been here a year. I think all of these pet hoarder shows make people think that everyone who has multiple pets is going down that road which isn't the case. If I was living in filth, then you can say something about it but until then, zip it….lol! I love love love my kitties and make no apologies for it :-)
Tina