Sorry I flat out disappeared after that last post, but it was followed by the Respiratory Flu (from hell). I’ve learned in this new world, no one gets “the flu” anymore. You have to know what kind of flu you have, or it doesn’t count. The moment it was mentioned I had the flu, the questions started pouring in: “Do you have the H1N1?” “Do you have the H3N2?” “Did you get the flu shot? Did you get the pneumonia shot?” Um…I’m a NURSE not currently working in a HOSPITAL, ipso facto, I TOOK NO SHOTS, NOR WILL I GO TO A DOCTOR. It’s in our oath. Thou shalt only crawl into a doctor’s office under the threat of death and/or already be, in fact, dead. Thou shalt NOT partake of any reasonable preventative care, as we have seen the outliers and know in the end…it’s all hogwash. Everyone dies. Even nurses. Suck it up and cough it out.

After the fevers passed, the fatigue set in, and after days upon days of sleeping, Greg took a lovely picture of Cyrus’ position since I became a 95 year old woman and “took to my bed”. The cats are too smart to sleep with me, so here the poor buddy waits.

But today was my day! I got up! I showered! I went to school to try and be of use! I wasn’t, but it felt great to be around people. While hanging around, trying to look natural, it came to my attention a staff member was in the process of rescuing 2 very tiny kittens. She was bringing them to school so they could be bottle fed during the day, and HEY! Would I like to meet these homeless little muffins?

Where are pictures, you may be asking? Of itsy-bitsy 4-week old furry bears who both weigh less than a pound? I can’t show them. If I did, you’d jump through the screen and try to grab them. I can prove it. One of my closest friends is a very NON-CAT person, and after taking one look at these cats, she offered to whip out a boob and suckle these kittens. No joke…they are THAT cute. Another friend of mine is deathly allergic to cats, and she admitted even she wanted these cats. A third friend’s response: “Yes. Whatever this cat wants. YES!” Pictures were sent to Greg with his reply, “Are you playing with our future cats?” They passed the “choose Mom” test, and then they passed the “choose the girls” test.

NEXT, we had to talk through the THING which often comes between us and cats: THE NAMING. Upon telling Greg it was time to allow the girls to name cats, he added in, “NO STRIPPER NAMES. No Sparkle, no Rainbow, no Mermaid Fairy Barbie Unicorn name.” I agreed wholeheartedly. I’m not committing 18 years to any creature named Diamond Glitter. Here’s how the naming conversation went:

In the car:

Kelly: Clearly, they want to be named Bubbles and Tickles.

Sara: Agreed.

Mommy: Um…well….Daddy was kind of hoping you would lean towards more historical important figures. Maybe Winston? Call her Winnie?

Kelly: No way. Tickles. Or Doreen.

Mommy: DOREEN?

Kelly: OR TICKLES.

Sara: OR BUBBLES.

Mommy: (Chanting to myself, “Don’t say the word stripper, don’t say the word stripper”): Well…there are just SOME names, which…well? Are sometimes INACCURATELY, but nonetheless, TIED TO…the image of things less than academic. (Don’t say STRIPPER…whatever you do, DO NOT SAY STRIPPER.)

Kelly: Do you mean when people add second names to Tiffany? Like Tiffany Ann? Or Tiffany Lynn?

Mommy: How did you know that?

Kelly: I don’t know. I just…felt it.

Mommy: So…Daddy would like a name like Lincoln, or Patton. We could call them Link and Georgie.

Sara: That’s just awful.

Mommy: OK. It’s kind of awful. But we’re going to have to find names I think we can all at least like.

Kelly: Don’t worry Mommy. I got it. We’ll name one of them MISTER Tickles. Done.

Mommy: I think that might be worse.

Upon arriving home:

Daddy (after hearing Sara’s submission of the name “Rufus”): Sara, your choice of Rufus is approved. Love it, perfect. Rufus for sure. Kelly, why don’t you make a list of 10 names, none goofy or sparkly, and we’ll try to find one we all like.

Kelly’s List: Cookie, Ruby, Sapphire, Topaz, Tickles, Lily, Penny (her current favorite upon which she is a little fixated), Sprinkles, Kiki, and Grace.

Mommy: So Penny it is. Penny and Rufus, from “The Rescuers”. Very fitting.

Daddy: I don’t like the name Penny.

Mommy: Well I don’t like the name Rufus.

Sara: So we’re back to Bubbles and Mr. Tickles.

Mommy and Daddy: NO!

 

And here is where we leave off…as when it comes to naming, you can’t always push these things. I know when the right 2 names come along (one boy, one girl), we’ll know. All 4 of us will know, just as we knew about this house. Just as we knew about the adoption of Cy and Max. Dagny’s name was changed 3x, so we should have known he wasn’t going to stay. The kittens won’t be ready for adoption for weeks, so we have time to sleep on these plans, but I have a feeling the time has come. The hole Max left has needed to be filled for many moons. Syd needs a purpose and Cy WANTS to play. 2 little puffballs with energy and love might just be the right choice at the right time for us. Stay tuned…

In the meantime, I wrote a little something over at Indy’s Child yesterday you might enjoy: I’m Not Winning Christmas. And of course, all of your naming suggestions are always welcome here!