Austin Allergies Are Awful

I’m a fan of alliteration. I’m a fan of Austin. I’m not a fan of allergies.

But allergies were all up in this face once I crossed over some imaginary line on 71 West going towards Austin. But Austin held my good friend Eric and his wife Eleanor, Brian and his wife Rebecca, and my friend Megan and I was really excited to be able to see all of them.

Hiccups Happen

I’m in New Orleans now. Hanging out with Kelley has been relaxing and fun. We went to The Country Club to swim, we went to Buffa’s where I had a really delicious boudin in a shrimp and crawfish cream sauce. I’m driving to Austin in a few hours.

My Sunday started with the Goose waking me up to say good morning. She made me a drawing with lots and lots of stickers. It was amazing. I see why people have kids. Sometimes, they make things better. I’m more than happy for my friends to keep having kids to make me feel better.

Traveling with Cats and Other Tales of the Road

The cats have become the drama. And I only realized how the cats handled moving once I had to wrestle a cat hiding between the bed frame and that black sheeting at the bottom. Twix’s body bulged through the sheeting and her struggle to get into that tight space was seen in the blanket that had been dragged to the ground and feathers that covered the floor, the comforter having lost the fight against this scared kitty.

I’m so sorry, AR.

Everything That Could Go Wrong and Right

Today, I saw a desiccated rat. I saw it because one of my cats ran away as I tried to put her in the carrier. I had to crawl in with a giant Maglight, sweating and thinking murderous thoughts. I wondered if Creighton would like to have this cat, a cat that he would never see. After I cornered her in the upstairs room, she begins to yawl because she knows her capture is inevitable. I sprinkle some kitty treats on the floor and as she makes her final run for the door, I grab her.

How Can I Help?

I’ve been really surprised to get this question. I don’t know why. In a lot of ways this move is an awakening. A part of me has lain dormant as I tried to do the things I was supposed to do. Get married, have kids, have a career. The things that would please my mother, please others, follow a trajectory that others are not afraid of, that they are comfortable with, and is, therefore, acceptable.

If I hadn’t failed at all of the above, maybe I wouldn’t be writing this post. I say failed because there was something I was supposed to do according to societal norms that I didn’t do. But in reality I didn’t fail at them. These things were just not the things I was supposed to succeed in doing.