When Margaret called to tell me about her new choice, I got ready. My mother-in-law, who was 77 years old, often made snap decisions. For example, she got a treadmill that she never used, and she quit painting after only three classes. But this time, her news really shocked me.
\n\u201cI got a kitten!\u201d she exclaimed, her voice brimming with joy.<\/p>\n
I almost dropped my phone. \u201cWhat are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA kitten!\u201d Daisy is her name. \u201cLook at that cute little thing! She\u2019s gray, fluffy, and full of energy!\u201d<\/p>\n
I pinched the bridge of my nose, and I could feel a headache coming on. \u201cKate, do you really believe that\u2019s a good thought?\u201d Having a kitten is a lot of work. They need constant care, teaching, and trips to the vet; they\u2019re not just cute little furballs.<\/p>\n
The worry in my voice was totally ignored when she said, \u201cOh, I know.\u201d \u201cBut I want to be with someone.\u201d This past week, the house felt very empty, but she\u2019s already making it feel more full!\u201d<\/p>\n
I had no problem with that. Margaret had been living alone since my husband\u2019s father died two years ago. She did have friends, but I knew that she felt lonely in the evenings when she had no one to talk to or eat dinner with. Still, a cat? A hyperactive, naughty little animal that needed a young, busy person to keep up with it?<\/p>\n
I told her, \u201cI just worry about you taking care of her.\u201d \u201cKittens like to play, climb, and scratch. They need attention all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret laughed. \u201cGrandchildren do too, but no one asks them about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sighed and rubbed my temple. \u201cYou know it\u2019s not the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
She told him to \u201crelax.\u201d \u201cI am old, but I am not weak.\u201d I\u2019m having fun with this cat! Also, I didn\u2019t really adopt a tiger. She\u2019s not even as big as my shoe!\u201d<\/p>\n
That didn\u2019t make me feel better. What I thought would happen did happen: Margaret would get close to Daisy, but as the weeks went by, she\u2019d see how much work Daisy was. After that, I would have to take care of her when Margaret could no longer.<\/p>\n
After a week, sure enough, I got a call.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s everywhere!\u201d Margaret sounded very angry. \u201cThis morning, she climbed up that curtain.\u201d Then she tipped my tea over. And the night before? At 2:00 in the morning, she was running all over the house! Cats have so much energy! I didn\u2019t know that!\u201d<\/p>\n
I sighed. \u201cI told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u201d her voice softened, \u201cshe curled up in my lap and purred herself to sleep afterward.\u201d This was the cutest thing.<\/p>\n
Her voice told me. Margaret fell in love. She already loved Daisy, it didn\u2019t matter how tired she was. That was the real problem\u2014she wouldn\u2019t be able to give up the kitten if she knew she couldn\u2019t take care of her in the future.<\/p>\n
I carefully said, \u201cMaybe you should think about getting some help.\u201d \u201cSomeone to help with things like changing the litter box and going to the vet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret got angry. \u201cDarling, I\u2019m not that old.\u201d I know how to take care of a kitten.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t convince me. I didn\u2019t want to argue, so I chose to wait.<\/p>\n
After One Month<\/p>\n
Finally went there to see the disaster for myself. I thought there would be a lot of chaos, with broken furniture, a stressed-out Margaret, and maybe a mouse climbing the walls. Instead, I smelled the warm, fresh tea and saw a scene that seemed strangely calm.<\/p>\n
Marge was knitting in peace in her wheelchair, and Daisy was curled up next to her, pawing at a strand of yarn. The house was whole. No blinds that are torn up. There are no signs of damage.<\/p>\n
Margaret gave me a big smile. \u201cDaisy, look who\u2019s here! \u201cYour worried aunt!\u201d<\/p>\n
I put my arms down. \u201cI was ready for a war zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret laughed. \u201cI\u2019ll be honest\u2014the first week was\u2026 an adjustment.\u201d But she is now calm. \u201cWe\u2019ve found a beat.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a lazy stretch, I saw Daisy get up and trot over to her food bowl. Slowly, Margaret got up and followed her. It was easy for her to refill the dish.<\/p>\n
Even though I was still not sure, something had changed. Maggie seemed to be having more fun. She moved faster, her voice sounded better, and she even seemed happy.<\/p>\n
Margaret scratched Daisy\u2019s chin and said, \u201cShe makes me want to get up in the morning.\u201d \u201cI talk to her.\u201d She stays close to me. I enjoy her company. \u201cI\u2019ve laughed so hard in years.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took a deep breath in. It\u2019s possible that I was wrong. Just maybe, this wasn\u2019t such a bad idea after all.<\/p>\n
Of course, I knew there was still a chance that I would have to take care of it one day. But for now, Margaret was happy again. And wasn\u2019t that the most important thing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Margaret called to tell me about her new choice, I got ready. My mother-in-law, who was 77 years old, often made snap decisions. For example, she got a treadmill that she never used, and she quit painting after only three classes. But this time, her news really shocked me. \u201cI got a kitten!\u201d she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28673"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28674,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28673\/revisions\/28674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}