Held hostage, but lovingly so

Today I was held hostage by our cat. If you've got a cat in your household, you probably know what I'm talking about.

Dusty, our cat, was clever about it, too. She waited til I was coming out of the bathroom to pounce on my sympathies. Out of that little frame of hers came a long, drawn out wail that I don't think I've ever heard from her, that said "I need to be comforted 'cause I'm not feeling well and you're not sitting on the couch so I can sit in your lap and be stroked and skritched AND I NEED MY STROKES AND SKRITCHES!"

Okay, so I'm a sucker for an animal in distress. I put away my notes for tomorrow and gave her my lap. Feeling put upon all the while. Pulling a book from my briefcase to read while absently skritching her behind the ear. And I open to a section talking about covenants and fellowship.

Ouch.

How many times do we, as humans living in modern society, turn away from those who just need a little comfort - and here I'm talking about people we know, not strangers. Do we even notice the toll that particular little debit on the karma card takes over time?

Dusty obviously formed a convenant with me. As I stroked her with a bit more love than previously (it's an amzing thing to be holding a cat when it burps), I conceded I could honor my part of the bargain.

Til next time -