Happy Anniversary, Charlie!

Here we are in the middle of January and I've written twice.  Ugh.  I say this a lot - maybe I should take that as a sign that I need to stop this whole thing - but blogging feels like a chore lately.

Today though, we're celebrating a special anniversary in my house and it's worth writing about.  (Nope, not a dating anniversary.  I honestly have no idea when that would be celebrated.  We are the worst couple ever.)

Two years ago today, I adopted this little fluff ball.

She was so cute and teeny...

A few days ago, a good friend of mine shared her "how my crazy cat joined the family" story and in that same spirit, I decided to share the story about how Charlie joined us.

Let's think back two years ago for a moment.  I had been living in Lexington for almost a year.  I still had about three friends total - and I use that term "friends" very loosely.  Lady Bug (the only cat I thought I ever wanted) and I had just spent 1.5 weeks in Green Bay with my parents, their dog, my sister, her now-husband, their dog and their cat.  Needless to say, Lady Bug and I were lonely.

Exactly two years ago, on a warm Saturday morning, I ran errands on the side of town that I typically avoided.  Because I was in the area, I dropped in at the PetSmart that I very rarely visited.  I was seriously was only looking for litter, food, and possibly a fish to cure Lady's boredom.  My house was a very strict "No-More-Cats-Than-People" house so it had never even crossed my mind to get a second cat.

I had been to PetSmart on adoption day about 100 times and never wanted to take another one home.  But that Saturday - at the PetSmart I never went to - I found this little teeny thing in need of a home.  She was a little ball of white and grey fluff who was too busy playing with her littermates to pay much attention to me.  I stood and talked to the foster lady for a while - much like I do every time without ever wanting to take a kitten home - but this time was different.

I stood there and stared at her for a good half hour before the woman finally convinced me to take her out of the cage.

As I lifted her out, a dog in the next aisle started barking.  The little tiny trembling ball of love curled into my neck and purred her little heart out as if to say, "It's ok.  I'm safe here."

I think my exact words went something along the lines of How much?

I technically left the store without a kitten that day.  I had to go home for my checkbook, I tried to talk myself out of getting another cat, and I needed to talk it over with Lady Bug... and yes, I know that sounds insane.

An hour later I got back to the store - Lady Bug in tow since she loved going to PetSmart - hoping that the dear little thing was still there.  Thankfully she was.  Less 24 hours later, Charlie and Lady were already inseparable.  We had become a two cat family.

Best decision I've ever made.  People who say pets need to come in pairs were right.  Having two little girls means that I never feel guilty leaving them home alone.  They take care of each other.  They play together instead of me always having to entertain them.  They snuggle together but still take turns snuggling with me.  The girls have very different personalities but they compliment each other.  I definitely got lucky - I hear horror stories every day about people bringing another animal into their home and it going horribly wrong.

Funny enough, I truly adopted a kitten - not a cat - that day.  Two years later, she's still teeny tiny.  She's never weighed more than 7 lbs.  She still cries like a lost little baby.  She's still got fluffy soft fur and a perfect pink nose.  She's still spoiled rotten, doesn't do anything for herself, chases things only she can see, wins over everyone who meets her, and acts like she doesn't have a care in the world.  At this age, most cats are adults.  Charlie still acts like a baby.

And she still snuggles into my neck after a long day.  It might take her 5 or 6... or 20... tries to get it just right but her favorite place in the whole world is draped across my chest, her head tucked into my neck, purring so loud that I can't hear the TV.

Happy 2nd anniversary, Charlie!  Thanks for letting me choose you.




P.S. As I write this, I realize that I've never told Lady Bug's "coming home" story.  Stay tuned!