When my parents moved out of their house into Lily’s and mine they had a Siamese cat. I drove the cat to the new house and he spent the short ride perched behind my neck on both shoulders.
Siamese cats are very talkative and I got an earful the whole ride.
When we got to the new house I took off my coat and he started to walking around the house. Eventually it was too much for him and he crawled into one of my coat sleeves. We thought he’d gotten out and was lost but he was just hiding while trying to adjust to the change.
I know how he felt. I’ve seen some changes this past year and a half.
The biggest is that my family lost my Dad in 2012 and I’m still dealing with that. His funeral was the day that hurricane Sandy landed in Long Island. I happen to think that’s appropriate since everyone was saying goodbye to a great man.
Dad did not like funerals and would have been unhappy that we had made any fuss. But all in all it was a cathartic experience and that’s really the point. I see him in almost everything I do especially with my interactions with the kids. It’s a shocking role reversal for me but I’m doing alright.
The other change I’ve been dealing with is more along the lines of “stop being a crybaby Jan!” Lily and old friends of ours purchased a wine and liquor store. She’s been working there straight for 100+ days without a single day off.
This completely changed my daily routine. Previously I would spend about an hour on the train next to her and another 15 minutes walking down 8th avenue from 33rd to 23rd street. After 5 PM I’d meet her and spend another hour on the train heading home. Round it up to 3 hours a day I’d spend with my wife and I miss it.
See what I mean about the crybaby part?
Lily’s fulfilling an ambition of her’s and I fully support her and help whenever and however I can. On Christmas Eve I was making deliveries and working the floor at the store. I even got $22 in tips for making those deliveries. Sweet!
But cats do not like change. They need time to adjust and they always want to go back to the way things used to be. So I’m dealing with it and still adjusting. Eventually I’ll find my equilibrium and it will all be fine but until then I’ll be hiding in one of my coat sleeves.
P.S. You know when the cat runs up the stairs really fast and stops at the top looking around? And you walk to them and they run off? I still do that.