I'm Such a Softie

I have a confession to make. I get overly attached to strange things.

I am totally attached to this weird guy that I met in Logan 12 years ago…
Just kidding Love. You’re not that weird! And I really like your quirks. (By the way, this picture is from the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It was really cold that day and Brent’s ears were cold.)

I would love to own a goat. When I worked at the zoo in Utah, I loved the spring time because that was when all the baby goats would be born. They were so cute.
How can you resist this? They would chew holes in your shirt, but they were still great!

I got attached to this strange animal when we lived in Utah…
I call him a strange animal because he didn’t really act like a cat. Oh, this is Frank. Frank would NEVER leave you alone, he was CONSTANTLY making noise, he was just a weird cat.

Frank came to be our cat in a somewhat interesting way. One morning I wake up to a cat meowing. I look out the window and here is this cat that’s making all this noise and looking cute and hungry. So, I call my Grandma – whose house we’re living in – and ask her if she knows anyone who has a white cat. “Nope, but don’t feed it,” she says. “Oh, I won’t feed it,” I promise. Then I call Brent to tell him about this weird cat that’s hanging around. “Whatever you do, don’t feed it,” is his answer. “Of course I won’t feed it,” is my reply. So, I hang up the phone, look out the window at this poor defenseless cat, and promptly get some cat food and feed him. I’m such a softie.

Frank drove Brent CRAZY! Frank would sit in our window at night and meow. I could say, “Shut up Frank” until the cows came home and it wouldn’t make any difference. All Brent had to do was say, “Frank” and he was off the window in a heart beat. Frank also liked to “feed” us. We took care of him, so he felt like he needed to take care of us. I would often come out and find a dead bird, mouse or rat on our back steps. How nice of Frank. And, Brent would never clean them up – “It’s your cat.” What a non-softie. I sometimes miss Frank. He was kind of fun to have around.

About 8 years ago, we bought our first new car. And since then, I have fallen in love with it…
My little car is so cute and red. We’ve always been really good friends. It has gotten me to all the places I wanted to go, along with all the places I had to go. But, alas, it is now broken. One of the hoses has a hole in it and it can’t be driven until it is fixed. This is very sad for me. I can’t wait until it is feeling better and we can get back to driving a little too fast and listening to music a little too loud.

I would love to own a Jersey cow. I mean, how can you resist?
Ever since I saw City Slickers, I have loved these cows. They are just the cutest, dumbest creatures! Everyone should have a pet cow!

My all time favorite movies, ever, is Overboard.
I have seen it at least 200 times and I still laugh my head off. In fact, I might watch it this afternoon.

I love working with teenagers…
I know it’s crazy, but I just love these girls. They can be surly and annoying, but they can also be sweet and fun. I’m sure one of the reasons I like them so much is the fact that I only have to see them twice a week and I’m not their parent.

One of my all time best friends, ever, was my horse Sar.
Wasn't he a cutie? He was the sweetest thing I have ever known. I thought it was so funny when Brent came along that Sar got jealous. If Brent and I were in the paddock and got too close for Sar’s liking, he would come between us. When Sar died a couple of years ago, it was one of the hardest things for me. How is that for being overly attached to weird things?

I talk to my plants and am sad when they die…
Perhaps it’s because I am an only child and used to being on my own, but I have a tendency to talk to my plants. I don’t just say “hi”, I have conversations. “I’m sure you’re going to like it here, what do you think?” If people listen to me, I’m sure they think I’m crazy. I’m not crazy, just really weird.

And finally, the whole reason for this diatribe. A little while ago when Brent was in Wisconsin, I had an unusual visitor. When I got up in the morning, there was this weird looking cat on our deck. She was a calico, but where the black should be were stripes. She had a cataract in one eye and was really skinning. “Oh no,” I thought, “Brent’s going to kill me.” Because of course, I was going to feed this cat. I mean, seriously! I was already attached. She had been on my deck for at least 2 hours, how could I not be attached? But, I decided that the right thing to do was to at least talk to Brent about it. So, I wait with baited breath for his call. “Guess what, there’s this funny looking cat on the deck who really likes me. What would you do if I fed her?” To which Brent said, somewhat dejectedly, “Whatever you want to do.” HOORAY! I rush out to tell this Poor-Little-No-Named-Slob that she will no longer be a Poor-Little-No-Named-Slob, but ... I can’t find her. I take this rather hard since I get overly attached to strange things, but eventually decide that it’s a sign and I just have to get over her.

So, what do I find this morning waiting for me…
There she is again, trying to tell me that we are going to be super best friends. Or so I thought. She didn’t hang around for that long this time. So, I guess we’re just going to be friends from afar and she will continue to be called the Poor-Little-No-Named-Slob cat. (Have you ever seen Breakfast at Tiffany’s?) She will join the likes of Garden Kitty and Fuzzy Garden Kitty. Ok, so I get a little too attached.

I told you at the beginning, this was a confession. If you're going to confess, you might at well go all out. I feel so much better now! Don’t stop being my friends just because I’m weird. At least I'm good for a laugh.