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•••••OCTOBER 11 , 2023•••••
Stray Cats, Pumpkins, and Wild Life “I need you to be in town by 8:00,” Sydney said. “You don’t have to stay at the house all day, but at least be in town in case the school calls….” “That kid of mine worries too much,” I said, but I did tell her I would stay with the kids while she and John were out of town at a meeting. I drove to Duluth early Tuesday morning. I had a couple of errands to run, but nothing too significant. Then, I figured I would return to their house to write until it was time to pick up the girls from school. Unfortunately, I sat at the keyboard and drew a blank; there was nothing to write about—writer’s block. The afternoon dragged on until school let out. But then life happened. Addison sat on the floor, counting her money. “I have $125.00.” It warmed my heart to watch her count money because I worked with her on that a few years ago. Then she asked, “Do you want to go to Animal Allies?” I wondered why she wanted to go to the animal shelter. “I’m getting a tortoiseshell cat. Can we go see her?” I smiled. Most ten-year-olds wouldn’t know what a tortoiseshell was, let alone how to pronounce the word. I queried, “Does your mom know about this?” “Mom said I could get her,” Addie told me. “But I have to save enough money for the adoption fee and food.” I told the girls if we went to the shelter, it would cut into their screen time. (Sydney limits their daily screen time.) Both girls said that was fine, so we went to the shelter. Addie approached the front desk, “Can we see Jade?” the lady seemed puzzled, so Addison explained. “Jade is the tortoiseshell.” (Just the Other Day cont’d on pg 3)