LR realizes that when dating foster cats, soul mates are too easy to find

The thing I've realized about fostering is that it's really a lot like dating. So you meet a cat. Then you get to know the cat over a period of time. Then you get attached to the cat. Then you're faced with a difficult decision: Should I let the cat go, or is it the …

It’s ok, I’ll just keep this foster cat (and every one that comes after her…)

I think I know how Marilla Cuthbert must have felt when she said "I can't imagine how I let that child worm her way into my affections." When I started fostering cats for the Maryland SPCA this year, I didn't think it would be this complicated. I wouldn't say I went into it naively. I …

I’d Like to Say “I Love You,” But…

A few weeks ago, I saw a blogging challenge to write a poem on Valentine's Day. Cue my instant eye roll, as visions of cherubs and heart-shaped chocolates and romance-as-dictated-by-Zales commercials danced in my head. The instant eye roll is a coping mechanism I developed back in high school to steel myself for that one …

LR assumes role of Bug Bounty Hunter, reverts to childlike dependence

Since moving into an apartment by myself, I’ve noticed a few things.  For one, it can be lonesome (scary) to be home alone at night. If I heard a noise at the Cottage in the middle of the night, I could easily convince myself it was Carrie.  Now I can more easily convince myself it’s …

I’ve Pooped In Your Bathroom Before

I don’t enjoy “Going” in public. I hate it. Doesn’t everyone? “Going” in public is like having Richard Simmons read your diary aloud at a city council meeting. It’s something you’d prefer to do alone in private. I’ve spent a lifetime trying to convince people that I don’t do this one thing. Of course, everybody …

Mother May I? (And everything your mother warned you not to do)

There are a myriad of ways to die.  Even everyday activities like getting in a car or taking a shower can become deadly under the right circumstances.  But how can we stay safe without spending years of fraught rumination trying to figure out what to avoid?  Humans aren't just born with the knowledge that the …

All I Want For Christmas Is Christmas

I've always loved Christmas, and when I was a kid, my only problem with it was that it never came fast enough.  The four weeks of Advent, brimming with anticipation, always seemed to creep by like molasses.  The days were all filled with an excitement I could feel tingling across my skin as I counted down …

House Hunters Irrational

Blind people watching House Hunters must think we have a real housing crisis on our hands.  I don't know what else you possibly could think if you just heard someone walk into a move-in-ready, $550,000 home and say something like, "well this all has to be ripped out and updated."  Ripped out and updated?  At $550,000?  Boy, …

Farewell, Old Bess, Until We Meet Again

It’s been a long time coming, but I finally made the move last week to post the old girl on Craigslist. My dad said she wouldn't go for much.  He said people would try to lowball me somewhere around $350.  I said he was crazy.  I said, "anybody offering me less than my $750 asking price …

The only time I really like winter is before it actually gets here

I wish someone would remind me of this feeling next April.  By then I'll probably be ready for another change.  I'll be tired of putting on fifteen layers of fleece before I go outside, tired of wearing boots and stockings, tired of taking a coat to the bar, tired of shivering while I dress every …