return from Christmas

Seasonal update: more pumpkins, more snow.

Some people talk about feeling disappointed after Christmas has passed. In case you haven’t guessed, for me it’s a relief. Thank goodness it’s all over! I’ve lived through another year! The Solstice has passed and the days are getting longer; I've muddled through the onerous obligations and chaotic family gatherings; and managed once again to look happy about the gifts I didn’t want or need from people I care about who don’t have the money to spare and who could be spending it on something better.

It’s not that I’m ungrateful at all. I just wish it was all just a little more about the time spent together than about the “stuff.” I don’t know why, but excess waste and consumption bother me a lot. On a larger scale, it worries me to think what kind of future we are creating for the Earth and future generations because the common wisdom of our day is that our economy and well being rely on rampant consumption.
(Ok, my rant is done…)

I am also relieved to be home. I was so glad see my friends and family in Philadelphia after so long a time away. But I hate traveling; and I hate staying away for more than a night. I wish everything were closer, or we could ride transporter beams at the speed of light to and from all of the places our friends lived. Wouldn’t that be great? (It would have to be pollution-free transporter technology of course.)

And, at the risk of sounding like the quintessential old cat lady, I miss and worry about our feline children while we’re away. These days I worry more now than ever. I don’t know or trust our cat sitter very well; and Samantha in particular now needs medication twice a day. I always wonder how both cats are doing when we’re gone; and I'm so happy to see them when I return.

The cats were definitely happy to see us when we came home yesterday afternoon. They were both waiting in the living room when we came through the door, and both kept us within sight all evening, and slept with us all through the night.

And today the Sam and Dusty keep randomly appearing and hanging out either nearby or in my face, like furry little comets circling towards me on erratic orbits before returning to their own little versions of the mysterious Oort Cloud: the bed, a chair, the back of the sofa...

And of course, blogging means that as I type this, Samantha is currently in front of my monitor purring to herself.

Well, a happy cat is a beautiful thing.