How My Cat Snapped Me Out of My Holiday Blues
By: Cee Vinny
Tags: Christmas, Cats, Self, Inspiration, Self Improvement

It doesn’t feel like a normal Christmas.

If you’re anything like me, you have some friends who are spending the holidays with their families despite the massive pandemic raging around the world.

In some cases, they might have quarantined or got tested before visiting their aging parents. In other cases, who knows — maybe they’ve lost interest in all the mitigation measures. Maybe they’re just sick of it.

I kinda get it.

However, though it’s probably at the expense of my own sanity, I haven’t given up trying to prevent the spread of the virus.

OK, my views on this holiday were already idiosyncratic.

But I’ve also accepted that it’s one year of my life, and my family will be here next year (especially if they don’t get COVID-19).

Still, this doesn’t mean that I have assimilated.

I’m not my cat.

I’ve mentioned this before, but my beautiful feline is the most amazing creature in my life (ok, after my husband).

Even during these horrid times, she can bring me peace just by being a fat piece of fur that lays on top of me, purring, and only expecting pets in return.

Now, I’m not sure if it’s the holidays, or work being super busy, or me being fed up with being in my house 99% of the time — but the last couple days have been big downers.

I haven’t been able to shake it off, this feeling of constant dread and pessimism about the world.

And I thought I would be forever happy if the U.S. election turned out the way it did!

I’ve been texting friends and some family, but not being super forthcoming with my mental state.

A lot of people look to me to brighten their day (believe it or not). They usually want me to make them feel better about things, especially when they’re COVID-related, and so it’s hard to admit that I’m feeling so crappy.

And what can they do about it anyway?

So, instead, I’m isolating, because I’m afraid that honesty, especially when lots of people are already bummed out, is not what anyone else wants to hear.

So, this is where my cat re-enters the story.

It’s quite a nice winter day today, weatherwise. The sun is shining and I can feel heat on my skin.

So, I decided to walk to the grocery store to get some snacks for the long weekend ahead. I usually listen to podcasts when I walk, but this time I felt like I needed to be alone with my thoughts.

Sometimes, when there’s nothing else blasting in my ear, I’ll have an epiphany about what is really wrong — or, in this case, what can make it better.

Then, I thought about my cat.

My beautiful feline, always rolling around, happy to see me, happy for pets, happy for snacks when she gets them, and just all around happy.

What does she know about life that I don’t? How can she stay so even keeled?

Walking back from the store, with a 12-pack of grape sparkling water on my shoulder and a bag of chips and dips in my hand, I thought about how she treats her reflection in the mirror.

Like I mentioned earlier, she doesn’t pay it any mind.

I also thought about cooking dinner last night and how she sat and watched us cook (like always). She rarely begs for scraps, though she did get a scrap last night.

And she was happy.

But she’s happy to get anything she gets.

She also never holds a grudge or takes anything personally if she doesn’t get what she wants — at least in the long-term.

She doesn’t have a self-destructive sense of self, with entitlement, low self-esteem, or other character defects.

When she sees herself in the mirror, she doesn’t see all of her insecurities. She doesn’t think about being fat. She doesn’t consider all the things she wanted and didn’t get, nor does she ponder what anyone else thinks about her — even though she would likely have a weight complex if she were human.

She doesn’t care.

She doesn’t care about the election outcome either way; she didn’t care what was going on the last 4 years, as long as she was getting her kibbs, her water, and was able to snuggle with us (almost) every night while we watch a movie.

Anything else is bonus.