gushing over Lola

I never really had a cat. When we were young, my Abah used to feed them stray cats and one of those was an adorably cute white one with a distinct black circular spot on his back. He was quite manja and always trying to get some affection by rubbing his body against you feet. I was awfully ticklish and truth was that I was petrified that if I had let him do what he wanted, I might end up scratched or worse, bitten. I avoided him like a plague. It wasn't until his death that I knew how I loved him. But it was too late. It hit me hard, nobody knew this but I cried alone for days -- feeling of horrendous guilt for not letting him show his affection towards me. It was completely alien to me that I was grieving for his loss.

That was probably more than 20 years ago. I have made a decision a long time ago to not be too attached to any animals for I know myself really well -- I'd be devastated to have to endure the loss again. The fact that I am petrified of being scratched and bitten just made is ultra easy for me to avoid them. I just never considered having a pet after all these years. But I was persuaded by my other half. The animal lover in him managed to sway me into saying 'yes'. So we picked one fine day and made our way to our local animal shelter. It took us 3 trips before we identified the one we like.

Welcome home, Lola

I knew I had to be the one to pick the cat. We wanted a kitten so the kids could bond right from the very beginning but there wasn't much choice for us. I kept looking at the more grown up ones and thought it would probably be best to adopt the older ones instead. And that was when I saw her. She was sitting comfortably in her pod with her big eyes. There was something about her. She looked so ordinary and yet so special. The caretaker let us played with her for a few minutes and I immediately fell in love with her personality. 

It has been 3 days since we brought Lola home. She is settling in just fine. Last night she joined us on the couch watching 'Bridesmaids' and today she stretched herself beside me while I lie down for a good rest. She has proven herself a wonderful companion in such short space of time. We love you so much already, Lola. 

A mommy of 3,