HUMBLE PIE
by Jaye Lewis
MeowMeow is anything but a complicated kitty.
She's friendly, hungry, and not terribly bright. Every morning she
wakes me up with a yowl.
She wants two things in life. The first and foremost is FOOD! Yours,
mine, hers, the dogs, anybody's. She doesn't care, just as long as it can
be chewed and swallowed. She doesn't care if you leave, just as long as
you leave food.
MeowMeow's second priority is to find that perfect place to relieve
herself, after the food. You see, she believes that we move the cat box
from room to room, and she is there to tell us where we should have put it.
Each time, it should have been someplace else, and part of MeowMeow's
assignment is to inform us of our mistakes.
On the day after our anniversary trip, where my husband and I spent
three days convincing each other that we were no more than twenty, MeowMeow
unveiled her most special assignment.
My husband and our youngest daughter were setting up her classes at
the University, so I knew that I would have the entire day to do some
writing and editing on my book. I was still feeling rather
twenty-something, and as the day progressed, I was becoming really
impressed with my editing skills. That was the time that my sweet, yellow
tabby chose to put me in my place.
MeowMeow was busy ignoring the perfectly clean cat box and looking for
the perfect place to relieve herself!
"Good gosh!" my daughter, Jenny, exclaimed. "Someone went in the bathtub."
"Well, it wasn't me!" I called out, merrily.
"MeowMeow!" cried Jenny, as the little trickster scuttled under my bed.
"Oh Gosh, Jenny! Do you want me to clean it out?"
"That's okay. I'll do it," Jenny answered, without enthusiasm.
"Great! Thanks, Hon!" I was glad for her capitulation, because I was
busy being the writer and thinking that I was pretty special.
Hours passed, as Jenny went off to her summer job, and I continued
editing. Finally, I admitted that I needed a break. So, I prepared to
take a shower -- totally forgetting that Jenny had cleaned and bleached the
tub, leaving the hand shower dangling.
Still in my flannels, I gathered my shower things and plodded into the
bathroom. Reaching into the tub to turn on the water, I replaced the hand
shower, precariously, into its holder above my head. When the cold water
was running, I turned the shower knob to the "high" position.
Suddenly, the nozzle jumped out of place!
The ice-cold water hit me in the face, drenching my hair, the walls,
the floor, and my clothes. Instantly my fifty-eight year old bladder
responded.
Quickly, I managed to kick off my shoes and hop into the shower
without breaking my neck. There I stood, fully clothed and blind, under a
frigid waterfall, waiting for my bladder to finish emptying, while I
struggled to turn off the knobs to my bathtub.
For a flicker of a second, I was really ticked-off! I couldn't make
up my mind whether to get Jenny or my cat. That's when I started to laugh,
and I just laughed and laughed until I nearly cried.
There was a lesson here. MeowMeow went in the tub. I went in the
tub. You might say that we grew into a new understanding.
As I went ahead with my intentional shower, the writer in me couldn't
resist the thought of what a hilarious story this would make!
After all, MeowMeow had fulfilled her special assignment, keeping this
writer humble.
-- Jaye Lewis
Source: Petwarmers
meow ~ meow