All They Were Created to Be 9/20/2020

By: Jennifer Richardson Holt

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, a heaviness comes upon me.  It is dark and very nearly impossible to see but its presence is apparent and unmistakable. I can try to pretend that it is not there but I succeed about as well as one who attempts to pretend the bitter cold is not there.  You can perhaps distract yourself from it but you continue to deal with though in a less direct way.  There are even times that the weight seems to know that I am attempting to discount its effects and that seems to make it all the more significant.  No matter how sound the sleep I have managed to achieve, the heaviness still contrives to rouse me most nights from even the thickest depths of peaceful slumber.  There are times that I can very barely move. In the most oppressive occurrences, my breath becomes somewhat restricted. The moment I can finally take oxygen back into my lungs rests at the mercy of just how much black fur I am particularly willing to inhale.  You see, my shadowy phantom is of the feline persuasion and finds it a very logical and pleasant scenario to lounge casually upon my chest, neck or face. Don’t worry though, my becoming a comfortable lounging location can almost never take me by surprise.  Its instigator is very fond of announcing his arrival in a very vocal manner.  You know when he is coming once he nears the entrance to the room. You have his approach to prepare yourself to acknowledge him with the appropriate affection or you will be benevolently head butted until you choose to do so. If you do not act accordingly, some part of you will become the cat version of a chaise lounge and if it be your face, well, it all could have been avoided by a suitable cheek rub.

Jasper became a part of our family in late March as the times became strange and isolated. Apparently cats are supposed to hide once they are brought home until they adjust to their new surroundings. My dear furry friend was absent for that lesson in Cat Etiquette 101 and cozied up to all three members of the household immediately once we arrived home.  He sat in the recliner with his new dad and watched some TV.  He propped his cheek on the arm of his new sister as she sipped a drink.  And he ever so casually draped himself across my lap whenever it was in a horizontal nature that would allow him to do so.  Still to this day he loves his people but he also does not meet a stranger.  I suppose he trusts that if we allow them in the house then he can check them in the OK column of his book.  Do not mistake him for all affection and cuddles however. He also greatly enjoys the pastime of hiding around corners and jumping out to startle unsuspecting victims. It’s all done gently (no claws used) but the sudden onslaught of an all-black assailant midair can catch one quite off guard I must say.

Our fondness for our four pawed family member has grown a great deal since his adoption some six months ago.  He exasperates and endears.  I suppose he must have done more of the latter since we have decided that we want to add, in a few months, another member to the family of the four legged persuasion. This time the addition will be of the canine variety.  How our Jazz the Spazz, (as he is affectionately called using one of his many additional monikers), will cotton to a puppy remains to be seen but we have high hopes.  The pup will be small and will grow up with us all so we believe the animal relationship should be an affirming one.  And Jasper is a social butterfly so we hope this will simply be another opportunity for him to flap those wings and impress us with his hospitality.

I think the reason that the people and animal pairing is so life giving to so many is because of who we are and how we are made.  I wonder if since we humans are made in God’s image that sometimes animals recognize that resemblance (despite how often we probably make it very difficult to see) and therefore are often willing to embrace and love us in a way that they would adore their Maker completely unhindered.  The look at us and they see a familiar face that they know looks like The One that they can wholeheartedly love.  On the other side of things, we can look at our beloved pets and see manifested within them so many of those traits that our Maker gave us but that we have let life steal from us.  We see their unconditional love that could only be divinely given since humanity is terribly apt to distort love into almost everything that it isn’t.  We also see in those creatures an effortless joy in the most simplistic of things that we lost touch with once we grew out of childhood. We let stress and ambition eat away at those innocent pleasures but with a single look in those fur framed eyes after the smallest display of affection, there it is again, in all its heart melting warmth.

I suppose it simply comes down to the fact that our pets mean so much to us because often, they are everything we aren’t.  They don’t hold grudges, they love unfettered and they know how to not let circumstance impact the deep seated wonder that comes with an uncluttered view of the world.  We could learn a thing or two from those that sprawl upon our laps, or faces as the case may be.  Hopefully, I will be learning a very useful lesson in the not so distant future how two very different individuals can bond and become a glorious addition to a family.  Also, I would have to hope that they don’t bond to the point that I have flying canine-around-the-corner attacks or middle of the night dog bellies on my face.  We are hoping for camaraderie and more examples of joy, but if inter-species affection happens to be flung on us in more unexpected ways, I suppose somehow we’ll manage.