L1 Writing Assignment

Morning Routine

My eyes remain closed in a vein attempt to sleep. I know it is not time to get up because my husband’s phone alarm has not sounded. The navy-blue light blocking curtains on the windows closest to our bed keep the room in darkness. Dim predawn light seeps between the horizontal slats of the blind on the window across from the closed bedroom door. My attempt to return to sleep is thwarted by the inevitable invasion of melodic chimes indicating it is time to get up. I curl in on myself and groan a wordless protest.

I feel my husband shift beside me. His warm arms draw me near. I can’t resist the desire to uncurl and stretch into his embrace. I smile and chuckle as he tickles my neck with his beard and trail light kisses over my cheek.

“Good morning my beautiful,” he whispers in my ear.

“Mmm Morning,” I mumble as I turn my head to meet his lips. I let out a bereft sigh as he releases me and slides from our bed.

The sound of our ambient fan gives way to the melodic but not harmonious meows of our two cats. My husband opens the door and I am joined on the bed by two chatty tabbies. They are careful to keep me between them as they make their way up to my hands for their morning pets. Their small bodies vibrate with purrs as I run my fingers through their soft fur. Once my husband is dressed and leaving the room, they abandon me to the company of my guide dog who follows me around the room as I ready myself for the day.


Reese

Shortly after we moved out of my aunt’s house and moved into our own, my mother agreed to let me get another cat. We went to the human society and were shown to the Cat Room. A lot of them were older and sick. One of the few cages containing kittens caught my eye. It contained a solid black, a black and white tuxedo, and a white with calico markings. She looked like a cat I had when we lived in New Jersey. So, I chose her and named her Reese after that cat. The worker took her out of the cage and handed her to me to hold while he went to get a collar to mark her as claimed. She settled over my shoulder and purred in my ear.

Three days later we brought her home. I spent the first day with her in my room. She climbed onto me, laid on my chest, and proceeded to lick my face. I never had a cat do this before. My mother says she was thanking me for rescuing her. Others have told me she was trying to take care of me by cleaning my face.


Pumpkin Stands Up to Dexter

Pumpkin is the newest addition to our family. We took her in when her original family moved out of state to an apartment that would not take cats. When we first brought her home, we kept her isolated in one of the bedrooms. After a week or so, we let her roam free. We discovered she liked to be up high, as she seemed to enjoy getting up on the counters and dining room table. This was not acceptable so we provided her with a cat tree.

Dexter tried to claim the tree for himself. He would attack Pumpkin when she tried to get up on the tree while he was on it. If she was on it first, he would chase her off. After a while she seemed to decide she had enough.

One night while we were sitting in the living room we watched Dexter bat at Pumpkin from the second to highest pedestal on the tree. She ignored him at first but when he tried to climb up onto the top where she was, she swatted him. I think this surprised him and he lost his balance. He fell from the second highest pedestal and landed on the floor. Fortunately, he landed on his feet.