1999 february 11

on being owned by a cat

it's official, we are the new protectors of peter parker.

big surprise, right? everyone who found out we were giving the cat a test drive knew we would keep him, no matter what sort of terror he turned out to be. luckily, he is not a terror, just a very inquisitive sweetheart. and i think it was always evident to him that it was not gene and me seeing if we liked peter, but more a case of him seeing if he might possibly tolerate gene and me.

as long as we feed him when we first get out of bed, he has decided he will keep us.

it's rather nice having him around, even if it is on his own terms. i have discovered he will be petted only when he desires to be petted. if i scoop him up for kitty snuggles at an inconvenient time in his schedule of napping and lazing, he squirms until i let him loose, turns and glares at me, then gets back to the business of melting in front of the heater. however, when he decides it is time for his pets, nothing gets between him and the hands. he has absolutely no respect for my schedule whatsoever; i may be cooking, on the telephone, on the computer... doesn't matter one tiny bit. he is right there, in my lap bumping his head against my hand, or weaving in and out between my legs giving full body bumps to my shins, purring up a storm.

lately, he has taken to sleeping on me, not with me, but on me. i sleep on my left side and gene usually sleeps right behind me, spooned around my body with his arm tucked under my breasts. peter parker sleeps just south of gene's arm, in the dent of my waistline. it is amazingly comforting to feel both their weights as i drift off to dreamland.

don't you just love the new hip computer references on the hearts this year? be my icon???

valentine's 99, poem #4

sickeningly sweet lullaby
[a candy heart poem by chrissie]

my baby
forever my girl
fair one
sweet cutey pie
dear one, true love
my girl
love
love
love
you forever.

hannah and i both think chrissie likes these sickeningly sweet poems just a little too much. she is the kind of girl who still makes her valentines and they always have real lace on them somewhere; i don't think i have sent a valentine to anyone other than my family in years. however, in the spirit of love, and since i am absolutely head over heels in love this year, i am thinking about making one fabulous web valentine for my friends.

gene, of course, gets his very own.

be my operating system, claire