his life so far...

my God it’s a beautiful day. peanut is sitting outside with me, every once in awhile getting up to strut his animalistic maleness. he is 6 1/2 years old and he has never really shown much interest in going outside. he has occasionally ventured out in different places we’ve lived, mostly in vermont, but for the most part he has been spoiled by the comforts of couches and carpet. but this spring, after almost 3 1/2 years of living in this house, he has suddenly decided it is time to go out and mark his territory. there has been another cat spotted in the yard as of late, and peanut just isn’t having it.

he stayed out late one night, even though it was wet and raining...waiting. (peanut has never been one to shy away from the water.) when the other cat came around, peanut took his stand in what became his 2nd ever, real catfight. his 1st was when he was only about a year old, if that. he just wanted to be friends, but the other cat had different plans. burrbutt we called him, mangy, orange tabby cat – and he bit my baby.

peanut ended up needing stitches and an overnight stay at the vet. it was horrible, we had no money, i was sick and we were in the middle of a move – me back to ohio, catfish to massachusetts for a summer movie shoot. we had only been married a year and we were going to be apart for three months. my mom paid for all of peanut’s vet expenses, sent me to the doctor and made me well with food and love. then she and my dad took off on an 8 week sailing trip and left me home alone.

it was me, peanut, and my parent’s cat packet. and we did great, just the three of us. i found myself a job. i’ll never forget the night i was putting together a presentation for the interview process. the job was for a youth educator, and it was to become my first ‘real job’ in my field. i was set up in the kitchen with my sheets of paper taped to the windows, marker in hand, pretending i was in a room filled with 8th graders, teaching them about HIV/AIDS. i had put together a week’s worth of lesson plans and i was going to present my favorite at my 2nd interview.

at some point while i was setting up, the boys walked in. when i turned around to face my pretend audience seated at the table, there they were, both laying on the table looking at me, their heads perched at attention. and so they became my audience – and i gave them a full 50 minutes of HIV education. both of them mesmerized, following my hands as i gestured or wrote on the pages as if they were a chalkboard. at some point during the lesson, when i asked a question, (i’ve always been an interactive presenter.) i could have sworn peanut meowed the answer.

the night peanut stayed out late, i heard the fight. by the time i opened the door, the fight was over, and only one cat remained standing.



FUCKING STUD!