Week #6 of Celebrate 50!

I remember the day we adopted Whiskers, our cat.  We went to the Humane Society looking to adopt a kitten.  There were none that day.  But the sweetest 1 year old cat caught our attention so we took her into one of those playrooms they have, thinking we would just play with her for a while & leave, because, after all, we wanted a kitten.  Well I don’t know who gave her PR training but she won us over in 5 minutes!  She was loving us, purring, her eyes twinkling.  As she wound around our legs and begged us to scratch her you could practically hear her say “Pick ME!  I love you!  I love you!  Pick ME!”  We did pick her and she’s loved us every moment since.  She is a joy.

So..that experience behind me, I kind of assumed (uh oh) that one can drop in & play with the animals, providing some TLC & socialization, precisely activity #21 on my Celebrate 50! list.  Well, turns out you have to fill out a 4 page application form & attend a volunteer orientation to be able to share your love.  So, I visited with the animals at their cages, but there was a sign not to pet them through the cage, so..mainly I showered them with verbal love – not quite the same effect for either of us.

If I do decide to volunteer on an ongoing basis, wonder if I my application will be approved?  I have lots of pet experience.  One of my sons was quite a pet lover and over his childhood we owned animals of nearly every type:  Snakes, iguana, lizards, turtles, hermit crabs, frogs, toads, fish, birds, ferrets, dogs, cats, rabbit, guinea pig, mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters (sorry to any of you loved ones I may have forgotten:)…even had a funeral for a lady bug once.

Anyways, back to the day at the Humane Society.….Funny thing.  I am a planner.  I know many of my activities need advance preparation & I am working on setting many of them up.  This one I hadn’t anticipated.  The “old” me would have been disappointed, but the “new” me believes everything happens for a reason & so there is never need to be distressed.  So..who knows, maybe I’m suppose to sign up to volunteer there & if I would have called ahead I would have taken the activity off my list.  Who knows.  Hmm.  Will watch in “observer” mode to see how things play out. 

I love “observer” mode – it helps me take the personalization & sting out of all that life drama.  Just stand back, observe, learn, & act…and NOT react.

Maybe I’m suppose to play with my own cat more!  Hmm….