Make it Stop - Evie

I switched my shift to mid-week, so it’s pretty quiet at Maddie’s, at least at first. A few people wander through, but they’re just looking, or seeking a cat fix but aren’t able to adopt.

I stop in to see one of my current favorites, Evie, who happens to be housed in the condo where I first met my boy Montana. She’s a sweet, soft, slightly chunky two year old calico. She’s initially shy but warms up quickly, she shows well, and I can’t believe she’s been here for a month now.

She’s a squirmy girl – she’ll climb partway into my lap, then roll off it and onto the floor next to me, pressing belly up against my leg and deliriously happy to get a belly rub. She purrs loudly and kneads the air with her paws. Evie only gets interested in playing when I’m about to leave, but I’m glad to see she stays out and alert even when I’ve moved across the corridor to meet adorable tabby and white O’Reilly.

They’re doing some kind of constructions upstairs, and suddenly a very loud motor starts up seemingly just above us. O’Reilly stops playing and leaps to the top of his structure, Evie retreats to her bedding, and the other cats I can see are either nervously at their doorways or hidden away.

It’s loud and annoying, but I try to reassure all the kitties that it won’t harm them. And that it will stop, they just have to put up with it for a bit.

I’m unexpectedly reminded of our economy. I spent part of the morning sifting through year end appeals from a host of worthy organizations, and also looking at my 403b and other bank statements. Yeah, there’s a part of me that wants to crawl under the bedding too.

This spiral thing will stop too, right? I’ve got to believe that, and to make my year end donations in spite of the extraordinarily gloomy outlook and outright craziness. (Dude selling Senate seats, for instance, and some of the other pols have to strive to appear surprised or outraged.)

The construction noises sputter and start and stop several times before lessening to a mild drone. The cats remain wary.