| Sunny Side Up September 25, 2002 �2002, Kathleen Gibson A homecoming to remember As I jumped up and down on the futon mattress it occurred to me that one day I may find all this funny. We had taken great care to ensure that our cat, Moses, would be comfortable while we were on vacation. A friend visited daily to clean, feed, and pamper him, staying for hours some days. Nevertheless, His Highness was hugely put out that we�d abandoned him, and while we were gone took vengeance by using our futon as a latrine. Repeatedly. On discovery, we considered tossing out both mattress and cat. Especially cat. But Moses was so pathetically happy to see us that we gave him a second�precarious�chance. I come from good German stock�.the �use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without� kind. So I dragged the mattress into the backyard. Four or five bottles of cleaning products and quarts of vinegar later, I turned on the garden hose to flush the stuff clear through. Now plumped up by hundreds of gallons of water, it weighed more than ten mattresses. Definitely not clothesline potential. The day was hot, the water cool. I bounced periodically all afternoon. Little rivulets of water oozed between my toes and seeped into the ground with every jump. Towards evening I hefted the mattress onto the willow loveseat to dry. The next day it was dripping again. I pulled it down and jumped some more. Even the Preacher took a turn. This madness continued for two days. We wrestled with that futon for ten days in all. It rained. We covered it with a tarp; finally sheltered it in the garage. The weather stayed cool; we hauled it into the house. But after a week, the futon, while dry on the outside and no longer smelling of cat, took on the odor of a damp basement. I probed its insides. Do you have any idea how many layers there are in a futon mattress? Cover, batting, stuffing, foam, foam, stuffing, foam, foam, stuffing, foam foam, stuffing, batting, cover. Fourteen�and layers five through ten were still sopping. I considered driving over it with the car. Instead I peeled the layers apart and dried them one by one, enlisting every heater and fan in the house to speed the process. Three days later the batting, stuffing and foam were drought dry. It took an entire day to reassemble our futon. It�s a little lumpier than before, but quite sweet smelling and perfectly acceptable for both sleeping and sitting. Moses� behavior has been impeccable ever since. He�s even accepted his newly limited house privileges. All this has made me recall that at times I give God a peck of bother. He could have tossed me out long ago without a shrug of regret. But his acceptance never wanes, and there�s always a place for me in his family. That�s true forgiveness�being willing to accept the consequences of someone else�s sins against us, and loving them anyway. Even cats. You can respond to this column at [email protected] |
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