"The shortest day has passed, and whatever nastiness of weather we may look forward to in January and February, at least we notice that the days are getting longer.  Minute by minute they lengthen out.  It takes some weeks before we become aware of the change.  It is imperceptible even as the growth of a child, as you watch it day by day, until the moment comes when with a start of delighted surprise we realize that we can stay out of doors in a twilight lasting for another quarter of a precious hour."
-  Vita Sackville-West

Today started with the mystery of the freezing cat. I woke very bleary eyed and went to see if I could help Wave and his mom wake up, and they were wide awake before me, and Wave was super excited. And my daughter was warning me not to freak out. I didn’t freak out. But I can’t say I was thrilled to see the cause of the commotion: a cat. A cat that they were both already in love with. A stray cat? A homeless cat? How did we find this cat????? The cat, apparently, found us. Because my daughter is some kind of animal whisperer. She woke in the middle of the night, happened to look out the window, and locked eyes with the cat on the lawn. What????? So, she let him in. It was too cold for a pet to be out last night, I knew that. And I understood why she had no choice but to let the cat in. But it was morning, and I wanted the cat to go out. I could see that wasn’t going to happen as long as Wave was around. So, I helped them out the door, took my walk, took my swim. By this time the cat was under a couch, frightened, perhaps, to find itself in a house with two dogs. I told Frank about the cat and went about my day. I had my Wednesday morning writers and then my Israeli group to think about. Also, I called the police to report a missing cat. Hoping someone had reported one. Nope. But, in the meantime, Frank found the cat, or the cat found him and Frank let the cat out because the cat wanted very much to get out and find its way home. And I was so glad! But I’m the one who had to pick Wave up from school today and tell him the cat was not his, wasn’t ours, and had wanted to find his true home. This didn’t go over well. But it helped when I told him the story of our beloved dog Suzi who, when she was very old, on a cold cold night like this, got lost in the next town and was saved from the cold by a kind person and we got to be reunited with her. He got the story. He liked the story. But he still wanted the cat. Still wants a cat. His mother told him he could have one. When? Maybe in a couple of years. It’s not a satisfying answer for him, and I get it. And my other daughter when she heard the story and saw the picture actually recognized the cat as one that came in a year ago and woke her and Will up in the middle of a cold night and the owners were found and came and got it the next day. Same cat. A real roaming cat. We have two elderly dogs and a rooster and that’s all we need.