All the Fizz

Man, yesterday just knocked all of the fizz right out of me.

I don't know if I've discussed this with you all but I have, for lack of a better term, "mood" hair. Normally, I have very curly hair. But I have some sort of weird chemical reaction whenever I'm really sad or shocked or getting sick and my hair goes straight. I know how weird that sounds but Coop can back me up on this. He used to say he could always tell what kind of day I'd had at work just by the state of my curls.

Well, when I woke up this morning, after the weirdness of yesterday's roller coaster, my hair was completely straight. I looked like a Beatle during the bowl haircut phase.

It's not really the best look for me.

Today was better. The girls had good days in school and seem to be settling in for the most part. I went to Target and actually bought some useful stuff that I won't have to return for once (psych!)--like a new laundry sorter/hamper. The Rooster Count is down to about thirty and the painter MAY be coming tomorrow. There are some issues with the wall needing some patching or a "skim coat" and I'm not sure our perfectionistic painter will paint it without that.

Then, just now, I got a call from the the same woman who had called before and she thought she had Edward. It was actually her daughter who had the cat. I raced over--I might have rolled right through a stop sign I was so excited -- but it was a different orange kitty. They (we) were all so disappointed! The woman, Joan, stood there with a hastily opened can of tuna and she was so bummed out she just dropped it in the leaves --I guess that other orange kitty had a nice snack.

I thanked them profusely and then cried all the way home. I miss my damn cat. Where could he BE all this time?

Oh, and you know how I wasn't sore after Pilates?

HAH! That was the best April Fool's joke of all. PLEASE don't make me laugh. Or cough. Sneezing? Out of the question.

I went upstairs with a glass of wine to soak in the tub and I realized that there are blessings in all of this. I have to admit that I had just about given up on Edward. The call from the woman and the resulting surge of hope and adrenaline made me realize that I need to try harder to find him instead of giving up. I want him back. I'm going to do my best to make that happen. Today, I sit down with the phone (and you know how I love the phone) and a list of nearby vets and shelters and I start making calls. I'll keep you posted.

The other great, truly great, thing that has come out of Edward going missing is that I have met some of the nicest and most caring people of my LIFE through this. Remember back when Sydney had her stroke and I said that I thought the basic instinct of people was to comfort someone in obvious distress? The people up here are looking for Edward like he's their own cat! Seriously, a woman yesterday told me she had been calling the city periodically. (Naturally, she, ahem, lives on my street. Dudes, am I the luckiest woman when it comes to neighbors or what?)

The Pilates soreness? While somewhat embarrassing, it made me remember how I felt when I was an athlete. And I'm not really ready to just give that up to be a couch potato, you know? Time to tap into my famous OCD for a GOOD reason. The sadist instructor is teaching an eight week workshop at Jane's school and I'm thinking if I do this Mondays and Wednesdays for a while, maybe I'll someday live to sneeze again.

The other thing I realized is that, um, hello, Barb? This move thing? It's not that easy. Not every single thing is going to go smoothly every single time. Like, um, you know, LIFE.

I'm 43 years old but sometimes it seems like I'm still getting the hang of how things work here on this planet.

The bad things don't mean this was a bad move. It's okay to get bummed out, feel all of those things that accompany missing friends and family and things that are familiar and routine but, as I keep telling my kids, don't STAY IN THAT MODE. You get what you expect you will get, and if you expect to find new friends and a rooster-less kitchen, that's what you'll get. Maybe you'll even get a floppy orange kitty who is on the lam.

Y'all should see my hair TODAY. I look like Chaka Kahn!

Comments

Don't worry - it didn't sound like a bad move, just a typical one. Every move has weird stories in it, and nothing ever goes smoothly. Sure makes for good blogging material though, right?

Edward, come home!
Marion Gropen said…
Shelter suggestions:

Don't just call. Go to the best candidates in person. I know of times where the shelter staff have said that they don't have your animal but they were wrong.

And try North Shore Animal League early on. They're not too far from you, and they advertise heavily, so if someone did take your cat to a shelter, that's going to be on their mental map.

Last, but not least, look for a Google, Yahoo or TopicA group that covers your region. Post a notice that your cat is missing. There may be some amateur rescuers in your area, as there are in mine, and they tend to be active on those lists, or to be known to someone who is active.

Hope that's some practical help.
Anonymous said…
What a great post...
Ei said…
I wish my hair did something interesting when I was stressed, other than fall out. Cheap entertainment.

I love this post. I had one of those "This is an epiphany! Oh, and DUH." Kind of moments this morning too.

According to Top Chef, you should be whipping up some coq au vin with all your old roosters ;). Of course, I don't know how that would taste.

Edward. Enough. Come home.
MadMad said…
Yep - you gotta recognize you've been through the wringer and a lesser woman would have been felled long ago (to mix a metaphor or two). Instead of beating yourself up, you should be proud. What you did was HARD - and there's no shame in acknowledging it. Great post!
DK said…
Chaka Khan was hot.

EDWARD COME HOME!!!!!!!
Barbara said…
I do keep thinking about your Edward and wondering if he's home yet. Many years ago my cat went missing after a move and we never saw him again - until 6 months later when I was saying goodbye to some friends at the door and there he was across the street. Much bigger than he was when I last saw him. We got him in and he stayed with us from then on. I guess someone had been feeding him and he just couldn't remember where we were.
I hesitated to add this story to your comments but I just want to say it's early days and all is not lost. Fingers crossed you hear something soon.
Mokihana said…
Marian is right. GO to the shelters.

Have you tried posting a message on Craigslist? People are constantly reading that and you could get a quick response if anyone has seen Edward the Missing.

Don't give up... I haven't, and neither have the rest of your readers.
Anonymous said…
Barb, I saw your comment on Mokihana's blog about Edward's being missing. It made me think about this blog entry from a guy who writes for the Honolulu Advertiser: http://wassapwitdat.honadvblogs.com/

Go down to his entry called "It's Been Two Long Months." Granted, it's about his dog, but you get the idea. Don't give up hope.