Leike and the Boy

I've had Leike a long time.

She's 14 years old this Spring and I've had her since she was maybe 5 weeks old.  She's been with me longer than Chris, longer than the Boy, longer even than Samwise.

She's starting to show her age lately...lots of puking, a couple of not-making-it-to-the-box moments that were super fun with a newborn.  More than making me nervous, it makes me sad...she's a good friend, and the prospect of letting her go, just makes me sad.

She freaked out a bit when we brought the Boy home from the hospital when he was born.  And by "freaked out" I mean she attacked me, which then turned into Chris attacking her.  But she settled in eventually.  And we've worked really hard to teach the Boy how to listen to the cats and respect their personal space.

She freaked out not at all when we brought the Girl home.  But nor is she particularly curious about our wee lass.  I think she's waiting for the Girl to do something interesting.

I was doing bedtime with the Boy last night.  We were reading and cuddling on his bed.  And Leike frequently comes in to the Boy's room when I do bedtime with him.  She purrs and (usually) is content to lay at the foot of the Boy's bed while we read and cuddle and then I take her with me when I leave the Boy to sleep (per his request).

But last night?  Last night, I was reading and cuddling with the Boy and Leike came in per usual.  She hopped up on the bed and started working her way in between me and the Boy.  I mistakenly thought she was coming to cuddle with ME.  No, no.  She purred happily and rubbed her head against my hands, and then curled up on the Boy's belly.  He looked at me and said, "Leike is on top of me, Mama."  And I said, "Yep, she came to cuddle you.  It means she likes you."

We lay there all together just cuddling and petting Leike's super soft fur.  I told the Boy about how I brought her home so long ago, so long ago that she fit in my left hand, I told him about how she and I moved across the country and met Daddy, and I told him about how she freaked out when we brought him home.

I know that not everyone is a "pet" person, not everyone gets the whole "useless animal in the house" thing, but it's moments like these that make me grateful for my animals.  They teach us different things than the people in our lives, they give us a form of grace.  And some day when Leike has drifted out of my life, I'll look back on these moments and be grateful for that grace.