My cousin has had the same yearly reminder on her phone for 8 years.
“Never Forget.”
I finally asked what it was about.
Without hesitation, she said:
“A grudge.”
That’s all the information I’ve ever received.🤷♀️🤔
I would never hike Mount Everest because I have IBS so with my luck I’d have to pop a squat at high altitude and not have enough oxygen to stand back up and end up with an Everest corpse Wikipedia page where they call me The Shitting Girl
50% of your time, when driving in the UK, is spent watching out for potholes. The other 50% is Turing the volume on your music down immediately after hitting a pothole to hear if you’re going to be in generational debt tomorrow.
I've been feeding this stray cat on my porch since February. She was so skinny I could see her ribs through her fur, and she'd bolt if I moved too fast. Every morning I'd put food out and watch from the window as she crept up, ate like she was starving, then disappeared back into the woods behind my house.
Around April I noticed she was getting rounder. Not just healthy-eating round, but pregnant round. My neighbor said I should stop feeding her, that I was just making the stray cat problem worse. But I couldn't. She trusted me enough to keep coming back, and I wasn't going to abandon her when she needed help most.
She vanished a week ago. Just stopped showing up. I kept putting food out every morning, but the bowl sat untouched. I was terrified something had happened to her, that she'd gone off somewhere to have her kittens alone and wouldn't make it. I checked the woods, called for her, felt ridiculous and heartbroken at the same time.
This morning I heard scratching at the back door. Opened it and there she was, holding this tiny gray and white kitten in her mouth. She walked right past me into my kitchen, set the baby down on the rug, and looked at me like, “well, aren't you going to help?”
She brought me her baby. This cat who was scared of humans for months chose my house as the safe place to bring her newborn. I'm sitting here crying watching this little one nurse while mama finally eats without looking over her shoulder.
I ordered a proper nursing box and supplies from someone online who makes custom pet beds, told her the whole story and she's rushing it. I also found a woman online who knits tiny blankets for shelter kittens, bought three because this baby deserves soft things. My little online shop, where I sell my garden planters, has connected me to the kindest people who understand what it means to care about the vulnerable ones.
I don't know if mama has more kittens out there, but I'm ready if she brings them. She chose me. After months of me just showing up with food and patience, she decided I was safe enough to trust with the most precious thing she has. That means something.
My neighbor can judge all she wants. I've got a new little family to take care of.