Friday, April 11, 2008

Making room for chaos

I was talking to a relative the other day, and they expressed great distress at the size of my ever increasing household - in just 8 years Brennan and I have managed to provide a home for not only ourselves, but five cats and now two dogs (there was a fish at one point, but then, remember, we have five cats...).

To them, the word menagerie doesn't even begin to cut it - they feel we're basically starting our own zoo. I was really surprised by their tone, and their concern. To me, each addition has found their niche, brought their share of love into the house, and done their part to really make our place a home. It made me wonder why they are denying themselves the joy of furry ones in their lives.

I can't imagine living without our munchkins - granted, they're messy sometimes, we do have dangerously large dust bunnies that roam the hallways on occasion, and a few tiffs tend to break out in the evenings come feeding time - but so what? How does that compare to the many mornings of hugs and kisses, lap warmings as you drink your coffee, evenings snuggled up with a massaging purr-box on the couch, the afternoons of playing with dingle-balls and using old rope for tug-tug.

The more I think about it, the sadder I feel for them. All they can see is the mess and expense - none of the joy and unconditional love.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So true momma Niki, your fur family, as all fur families are well worth the "troubles" they bring... i know mine are... the mice that Cleo wants "play" with, the unexpected showers when DeeOhGee runs in out of the rain, the almost knock me down "hugs " from Red, are made up in the gentle kisses when i am sad, the cold nose reminding me i am not alone, and the warm purr-box to snuggle with on cold nights with two puppy-foot blankets at my feet... Love your babies, they love you, and hope that one day, some special fur person will find thier way into mom and dad's hearts leaving them forever changed for the furrier

Livia Indica said...

I don't know what people do without animals either. I have 6 dogs and over 25 cats and if I had the room and money I'd have more. They are my furbabies and my friends.

Anonymous said...

Everyone knows when they've reached their limit. Gods know I have, but we are currently boasting 8 horses, 4 goats, 3 dogs, 2 fish, and 1 snake. We just recently lost our iguana. RIP Lizzy. And speaking as Cenau's "grampa" , I know you all are taking good care of each other up there.