Hello friends,
Some of you may remember when I adopted my cat, Nyx, this past June. Even then, I was already obsessed with her. Now, I’m whatever the next step up from “obsessed” is. I want to be near her all the time. That works out well because she also wants to be near me. I think she’s as in love with me as I am with her.
When I wake up in the morning, I spend extra time in bed just petting Nyx. The repetitive motion, combined with her purring, is like a spell. No matter what I need to do that day, I can’t get up without stroking her soft tortoiseshell coat. She wedges her tiny body against mine, getting as close as possible without merging us into one being. I can see how cats have been associated with magic over the years.
Nyx follows me onto the porch when I go out to feed the turtle or smoke a cigar. She pushes the bathroom door open every time I go in. When she can’t get it open, she cries. At night, when I take her litter out to the bin, she whines at the door until I return. She follows me like a shadow, one I wouldn’t dream of banishing. Her small mews and chirps have become the soundtrack to my days.
I never thought of myself as a cat person. I never thought of myself as a fish person either, yet I remain enthralled by my family of goldfish. I didn’t think of myself as an insect person, but I could watch my backyard bees and butterflies for hours. I suppose I’m a bird person as well, as I watch the young chicks bathe in the birdbath out back. The pair of mourning doves who hatched them forage on the ground below. For years, I was a dog person, but I see now that’s just another box I tried to fit into. I am merely a person, taking in all the life around me. I wonder what would happen if we all stopped trying to cram ourselves into too-small boxes of identity and self. What could occur if we simply existed? What might we learn if we opened ourselves to the world?
Until next time,
Yardena
P.S. I include the text below in every letter, so you’d be forgiven for ignoring it. But I’m making an extra plea now. It makes me feel a bit icky, so blatantly requesting your hard-earned money. But I am, as I said, merely a person, and people require money to survive. If you take anything from these letters I send, perhaps you’ll give a bit back.
Weekend Potpourri
I offer two albums for your listening pleasure this week. One is a bit indie folk, while the other leans more neoclassical/ambient.
If I haven’t yet convinced you to subscribe to the Soaring Twenties Social Club, I hope this will do the trick. We’re creating a place where real art can flourish, and there’s no “content” to be seen.
We need to save all the insects, not just the bees. Our world depends on them.
The comments on this thread are as good as the thread itself