Ada the Cat Plays Favorites

07 Jan, 2024

Michele and I have been together for just short of 40 years. We long ago figured out an important key to our successful relationship. She's Strategic Planning, I'm Daily Operations. She's in charge of the Big Picture, Long-Term Planning, and Lifelong Goals. I'm in charge of Getting Dinner on the Table, Getting the Tires Rotated, and Laundry. Say what you want about it, it works for us.

Part of Daily Operations is getting Michele her morning caffeine so she doesn't have to get out of bed. Another is making her "veggie plate" every night as an Amuse-bouche before dinner. That kind of thing. She does the taxes every year and we'll be able to retire someday because of her. You get it.

What does that have to do with Ada the Cat? I'm glad you asked. Ada loves Michele. She pretty much spends the day with Michele, where Michele is, she is. Oh sure, she'll come visit me for a minute or two, but really, she's throwing me a bone just to keep me from whining too much. Never mind that I feed her every morning and every night, she seems to think that I would do that in any case.¹

So, in the evenings, as we are watching our nightly TV. Yes, that's right, we watch TV pretty mucy every night! Tell 'em that when they say midwesterners don't know how to cut loose. Ada usually joins us for this viewing experience, but she's one of those people who usually can't watch the whole show before she falls asleep. Naturally, most of her time is spent on Michele's lap, not mine. But! In the winter, I'm usually under a furry blanket. Perhap because it is the same color as she is, perhaps because it is soft and furry or, perhaps because she just pities the old man, she will spend time on my lap (pictured).

Now, this is when your Humble Narrator will miraculously pull together the disparate threads of the story together. Michele and I have our little treat every night during TV time. I'm the one who goes downstairs to get it. (Ooh! What will it be? Cookies, Brownies?) One of the very, very few examples of me delegating a Daily Operation to Michele is when Ada happens to be on MY lap when treat time arrives. *Don't trust that innocent look. She's always scheming.

Because both Michele and I realize that we should disrupt the pattern that has been the basis of our marriage for nearly forty years rather than Disturb the Cat, Michele gets up to get the treat. Michele will get up and take a couple steps toward the stairs. At that point, the little shit, I mean Ada, immediately jumps off my lap so Michele doesnt have to go downstairs. This means, of course, that I go get the treats and balance is returned to the universe.

And that is why a cat is important for a successful marriage.

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