Reincatnation

After a week without a blog entry, Alexander asked me if I had decided to let the blog die. Not so, I assured him. Just had some other stuff going on. For those of you who have been following along, it was just last Halloween when I had to say goodbye to my good friend, Stinky. I won't lie to you -- It hurt bad and it really took a while for me to finally recover. I don't care if its a cat or a person -- I don't give my heart away easily and I never really stop loving someone.

Jump forward about a year -- I still have three pictures of Stinky at my desk, I still find myself talking to him. Its not a sad thing, really. I just enjoy talking to him, letting him know that he's still on my mind. A neighbor's cat had adopted me, dropping by for a little attention now and then. Its all the kitty love without the responsibility. I really liked that. Definitely my speed at the moment... or so I thought.

I went out for a late night run through the neighborhood a few nights ago. On my way back, I went by the park that's near our house. (And for my readers with dirty minds: No, its not that kind of park.) I stopped to toss away my empty water bottle when this striped cat appeared next to me. Not quite out of his kittenhood, he seemed awfully friendly. I gave him a quick pat on the head before telling him to head back home to his family. I turned and made my way back but he followed right along side me... all the way home.

Yes, its cliche -- "Look what followed me home!" I keep expecting him to disappear again to wherever he came from, though he shows no inclination to leave. I haven't adopted him, as I don't really consider him mine to adopt -- it seems more like he's adopted me. At this point, I think I'm just going to call him Cat. "Poor old Cat. Poor slob. Poor slob without a name. The way I see it I don't have the right to give him one. We don't belong to each other. We just took up by the river one day."

Honestly, I wasn't looking for another cat. I was happy having a surrogate cat, I didn't really feel like it was time to put my heart out there again... I can't shake the sense that some way, some how my friend had made his way home again, even if it took a year and a different body. I guess that's how life works sometimes -- we may not think our hearts are ready to love again just quite yet, but when its time, its time.