Be Careful What You Wish For

"Mom, the cat's out again!"

We have 2 phenomenal house cats... though I'm not sure one of them is aware of that (the house part). Tippy and Willow are our Lynx-point Siamese cats. They're the most wonderful, loving and interactive cats. They're great with all three of the kids -- never scratching or biting no matter what the offense -- and, they just adore my daughter... their official Mama. Unfortunately, Tippy has recently become an escape artist.

We also have a 13-year-old Chow Chow named Csiba who uses a remote controlled doggy door so that she never has to "hold it". Lately, Tippy (white tippy toes) has challenged herself with getting through that door. From a dead sleep, she goes running when she hears the remote click of the doggy door as Csiba makes her approach. Unfortunately, 13 years and a laid back attitude means Csiba's never quick to actually de-house (read: like de-plane only leaving a house). This poses two problems: [1] her meandering frequently results in the locking pegs resetting before she's made it through the door so the cat can follow by just nosing through the door that's ajar (that never sounds right), and [2] taking her time means Csiba often gets a feline escort as she de-houses.

Now, here's the thing... I'm pretty sure that Tippy doesn't actually WANT to be OUTSIDE. She just wants to get through the door. Once she's outside she goes into a feline panic complete with hissing fits and "Christmas Tree tail" (that's where the tail puffs up so much that it looks like a Christmas tree without ornaments). She immediately RUNS to the back sliders OR to the front door and scratches and meows loudly to be let back in the house. (Would that be called re-housing?) She never thinks beyond getting through that door AND since it only works one way -- she can't get back in once she's out because she doesn't have the magic collar remote -- she's stuck outside... where her actions deposited her.

So, here comes the happiness moral of my story today:

Be Careful What You Wish For! Don't aim for the door, don't go through the door, don't even peek through the door if you don't want to end up locked out on the other side of the door. That can mean a lot of different things to a lot of people. It means a lot of different things to me... all of them prophetic. In order to maintain my happiness quotient, I resolve to think through my actions such that I don't end up somewhere I don't want to be. Call me boring. Call me safe. Call me happy to be where I am.