Whenever we go away, Truffles, the cat, gets jittery and on our return she is very clingy and attention seeking, especially towards me. She will be on the bed every night, kneading my stomach or if I’m asleep on my tummy, she’ll knead my back and settle there. By day, she’s fine, but by night she can be a bit of a pain. But don’t you dare say so!
So when Mike described her as high maintenance, I was not about to agree with him. “She’s not, ” I argued, “it’s just that you’re at work for most of the day, when she’s no bother at all. Only for about 20% of the time is she wanting attention.” It turned into a bit of a bickering match. Mike arguing back and complaining that I never let him have his opinion. I sunk into a sullen silence.
Overnight I pondered how I could have handled the situation better. I thought of a couple of options and the next day put them into action.
When Mike came home and Truffles appeared, I addressed her, “hello my darling HMC”. There was a pause (not paws!) and then Mike laughed…”High Maintenance Cat” he said! “Don’t say it too loudly,” I replied, “you don’t want to offend her!”
Humour will always work.
Truth be told, we both love the cat, and once we’ve been home a while, she’ll revert to her old independent snooty self and find somewhere else to sleep!
There was another good marriage moment that I appreciated this week. We have Mavis to help us keep the house clean(ish). She’s away on holiday at the moment so we are doing the housework ourselves. With only 2 of us, it’s not a great deal of work, but we still can rack up a pile of dishes at dinner time. The other evening, after dinner, I was going shopping, taking advantage of it being less busy. As I left the messy kitchen, I said to Mike, “Don’t worry about the kitchen, Helga is coming tomorrow!” Mike laughed. I left.
On my return, the kitchen was spotless.
Colossians 3:12
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
As I say goodbye to 2015, I am grateful.
It’s been a good year.
God goes before me into 2016. I will follow Him.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx
HAPPY NEW YEAR!