Love Rescues

Pearl of the Post: Patch Job

How We Found Minka

The beginning of last summer was rough for me. I adopted Antonio's Porch's pearl of "becoming aware of the void as I filled it."

My first kitty, Tigris, was a lifelong companion of 20 years and she had just past. (Read: Angels Have Whiskers) My son headed off to sleep away camp and I suffered from serious empty nest syndrome.

I fell into a well of emotion that dampened my usual Camp Me On the Go Summer mode.

My house felt so quiet and empty.

Their absences were palpable. Then my daughter began day camp. I was very much alone.

I don't mind being myself and crave quiet. But I was alone and grieving.

Spiritually speaking, I was diving deep into the well with the emotions layer by layer. Ordinarily I'd stay there and ride the emotions to their root and follow them over the rainbow to the newer deeper perspective and appreciation, the usual final destination of those emotional rides.

I went there for like a minute and felt where I needed to go. Out. Immediately out of there. I jumped out of the wallow well, a depth I know all too well for the past 7+ years.

I'm so over it! I'm ready for a lighter stretch in my forties filled with lightness, laughter, fun and joy.

So naturally, I went shopping.

I scooped up my daughter and we headed to the North Shore Animal League under the guise of business for the film "Secret Lives of Pets."

The animal stench ticked my allergies right off. The myriad of caged dogs pulled at my heart strings. While I watch several family dogs, I'm a cat person.

My ears perked up when one of the staff members said it was "kitten season".We followed the paw prints to the kitten cages. A few were mini- Tigris-es. That freaked me out. I didn't want her clone, I'd be thinking only of her and would ignore the kitten actually in front of me.

We headed to the last place where kittens were held. We spotted a black and white cutie. She mushed her face into my hand and fell immediately into my heart.

We spent an hour getting to know her. After all, a pet is a lifelong commitment which can span the next 20 years like Tigris.

I was in love. We called my hubs who was concerned I was making an impulsive decision to compensate for my emotional state.... YOU THINK?!?!?

He met us at the North Shore Animal League and fell face first in love to. It's not hard to do with this little cutie.

Our new kitty "Minka Pinka" pounced right into our hearts. I spent most of the summer playing and cuddling with her. Play Time is powerful. Minka turned everything in our home into a toy. She found the fun in every nook, cranny and tchotchke.

I kitty proofed the house.

Minka has the simplest formula for a happy life - be cute, love, play, eat, sleep, snuggle, nibble on faces, chomp on wires, shred Charmin and repeat.

I loved falling in love again. Love lifts you right out of the pain. I'll have to deal with the underlying pain at some point but I for now it's Play Time.

Minka lifted my spirits back into joy and has brightened up our home every moment since.

When my son returned from sleep away camp he wanted to know what I did for the summer and what he missed. I introduced him to Minka who was snuggled up in bed and hugged them both and said, "T H I S. This is what you missed. A whole lot of snuggling."

It's been a year since she rescued us. She's as curiously cute as ever. The cat has not fear, loves water and has put a major dent in our toilet paper budget. There's no toddler, tween, momma or grandparent who has walked into my house in the past year who Minka hasn't wrapped around her lil paw.

Friendly, fun, special. A total lil lover who patched us right up.

I'm convinced Tigris had a hand in brining Minka from West Virginia up into our hearts. Ever grateful to the folks over at the North Shore Animal League.

Catch Minka Moments over on Instagram.