Almost Ready

So, my beloved little Edward has been back with the family since April 29th.

It's hard to imagine it's been that long, actually. Three and a half weeks now. People have been asking how he's doing and how he's settling back in and I've been a little hesitant to answer because he's a different kitty than the kitty who left. I haven't been able to define it really...

It's not just that he's so skinny --he has put on some weight but he's still not back to being boneless. You can feel every single bone in his body.

It's also not just that the pads of his feet seem to be scarred for good: Which, you know, causes me some grief because oh, how I love those feet.

It's not just that he and Thomas, our other orange cat, are only just now getting along after their six weeks apart. Thomas has been a VERY UPSET cat over this new interloper-- honestly, he acts like he's never seen Edward before. (We've taken to calling Thomas and our cow dog Scout the "Brain Trust"of the Cooper family. But just today, Ana (still home sick) caught them grooming each other. (I may have accidentally uploaded the big version of this photo so when you click on it, it might be HUGE.)

But what I think it is is that he's just lost his arrogance. Dudes, he was the funniest, most arrogant cat before. His entire motto seemed to be, "Hey, I MEANT to do that. Now, you there, stop gawking and admire the tail."

The tail is intact.

But Edward? He's just sort of a paler version of himself. A little more tentative and clingy than he was before the Great Adventure. Do you think little orange cats can suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

And we haven't let him go back outside yet. (I thought I'd try something new and actually take my husband's advice for once.) He's ready, though. He paws at the screen to go out and he sits there, yearning to be free. I know the day is coming when I'll need to let him go and trust that he'll come home again. I made a deal with my cats when I brought them home that I wouldn't keep them confined. They've always been indoor/outdoor cats and I promised them they always would be.

It's just not so easy, after everything that's happened, to let him go with grace and to trust that he'll come back to me. Maybe I have a little bit of PTSD, too? So, I'm giving him until the Edward Socks are finished to be kept inside. I'll finish them on June 1 --that seems fair.

Meanwhile, though, and I'm SURE this is no coincidence at ALL, I cast on the first of my Contest Socks. I'm still working on the Edward pair--they are my traveling socks that I take with me to work on whenever I have to wait somewhere. And today I sent off the books to the first five winners --but if you won a book from me, you have to send me your address if you really want me to send you one. Send it to my e-mail address which is barb AT sothethingis.com. I promise to promptly lose it but hopefully, I'll mail the book before I do. I'm not really some lecherous carpet salesman from Amarillo masquerading as a neurotic mother/knitter/writer from New York. I mean, Dudes, you can trust me because who could make this stuff up?