Ahhh... Serenity

Today is a good day. I'm determined to make it a good day. I'm determined to
have ONE day of mental clarity, relaxation, and no stress. I'm determined, if
just for 24 hours, to not worry about my work situation, the weather (the lack
of resources to combat it), or anything else for that matter. I'm determined to
do as little as possible (the greatest effort I intend to undertake today is
getting out of the tub after a hot soak), so long as the cats are taken care of.
The litterbox was scooped yesterday so there's only food and water to worry
about today, and that's a whole wopping minute's worth of work, most of it spent
getting Nimbus' head out of the food bowl so I can put the rest of his food IN
the bowl lol. So why am I so determined to do (or not do lol) this? I need one
day to just relax, to get back to what I once was before the tides of change
started last fall. I need one day of stress-free relaxation, silent serenity,
and laziness. I've had a little here and there, but nothing that could drown out
the noise and stress of my everyday life. I don't want to watch the news, I
don't want to struggle to accomplish a mission on my xbox game. If it's not good
news, I don't really want to know right now. If I can't accomplish the mission
in the first two tries, I don't want to do it right now. Maybe later today I'll
do it, but not right now. I need a day to just relax and reintroduce me to
myself! Today I let Nimbus drink the bath water before I get it nasty. Today I
lounge around, not even going out if I don't want to. Today... Today is my
"holiday", my one day to be stress-free, relaxed, and care free. I started easy.
I got my 8 hours of sleep (which is rare lately), woke up, and went back to
sleep for a few more hours. For once, I want to enjoy life, not just live the
day to day grind.
This is why I love cats so much. When I woke up the first time this morning,
Nimbus came to greet me and purred me back to sleep, reminding me that I had the
day off and had nowhere that I needed to be. When I woke up the second time,
Curzon was snuggled up with me, sound asleep on top of the blankets, reminding
me that I could - and should - stay in bed and relax for once. The cats have
reminded me that I am the center of their universe and as such, I should rest
once in a while, as an exhausted hunter doesn't bring home dinner. So today, I
am not human. Today, I am feline. Watch out Garfield, here I come!!!! Lmao
In all seriousness, after the week I've had I really do need to rest. I've
worked way beyond my time, done tasks that wasn't on my task list, been caught
in the middle of managerial power struggles, and had physical pains in places I
haven't had in years, including a near panic attack at work. Work shouldn't
stress me out like this. I shouldn't let it stress me out either. But I'm a
soldier fighting a war for chump change to feed my (feline and human) family. 3
souls depend on me right now to bring home dinner, and while they would still be
eating if I wasn't working, they would know the difference and wouldn't be the
comfortable, relaxed, stress-less felines that they were meant to - and should
always - be.
I'm not sure if it's because they're Maine Coons or it's just a feline trait,
but these cats sense every change. They know when we're stressed, sick,
depressed, or need to sleep, and act accordingly. They should never feel like
they have to do the hunting to feed themselves, but the twins, if they could
talk, could tell of several times since I rescued them where they didn't know
where dinner was coming from, almost entirely from their first year with me. I
have spent the last 5 years determined that they never EVER go through that
again. I will go without before they will. They are my strength no matter what I
do or what happens. They keep both of us humans in check, giving us the "snub"
if they think one of us has behaved wrongly to the other or one of them (and
sometimes we have no idea what has happened in their eyes and have spent days
trying to figure it out). They taught me how to open myself up and let someone
in (thus enabling me to trust Mr. Cat enough to let him into my life) and then
to know that there's always room for more (surprises happen *glares at Nimbus
then laughs*).
So today is a day to pamper myself, and in turn, pampering every soul around me,
human and feline, that has felt the wrath of my stress and anxiety. And today is
the day none of you will (hopefully) have to either read or skip one of my
political rantings! Today is all-things-bad-free holiday in the House of Cat!