A paper grocery bag scuttles across my studio floor, a couple of inches of fluff moving side to side behind it like a furry rudder. Suddenly a brownish striped and spotted form darts out from beneath the bag, then turns and leaps into it, smacking the back of the bag with a crinkly thump. Acadia has come to live with us.
After extensive (some might say obsessive) searching on petfinder.com and adoptapet.com, and several lengthy interviews with rescues about various cats, I came upon “Lisa” and fell in love with her sweet face and relaxed body language. After another careful interview, I met “Lisa,” who decided she was home and let me know that, of the names I was considering, Acadia was the one that would fit her. Acadia is probably a bit over a year old, so I’m designating November 28, 2013 as her birthday– Thanksgiving Day, because I am so thankful for her.
I knew I’d missed having a cat since Silver died a year and a half ago, but I didn’t realize how much until Acadia moved in eight days ago. There’s a saying by Roger Caras, “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our life whole.” I know many cat lovers would say the same about cats. I’m not sure I’d put it quite that way, since I believe it is God who makes my life whole, but I do believe that He uses dogs and cats to help many of us experience His love that makes our lives whole. I know that’s how it works for me. I’ve had a cat-shaped emptiness in my heart and lap for too long, and this past week I have often had tears of gratitude and joy at having that emptiness so warmly filled. I’ve been filling my journal with sketches of Acadia, and I look forward to many years of sketching this beautiful creature while she purrs on my lap or scampers around our home.
