I slammed my laptop shut and let out a frustrated breath. Then I tossed it aside and laid my head back, staring at the ceiling.
After a minute of this, I felt Freddie bump into me with his head. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
I turned my head and looked at him. “There’s all kinds of terrible stuff going on right now and I feel like there’s nothing I can do about it.”
He started at me a minute looking thoughtful. “I feel like that sometimes,” he said.
“You do? But you’re a cat.”
He frowned, sitting up straight. “I have problems,” he declared.
You know how this works, but as always, a gentle reminder:
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“Like what?”
“Like...”
“Oh, Freddie. Not only will they not hurt you, they don’t even want to.”
“We’re not talking about me right now,” he said, deliberately, “we’re talking about you.”
I sighed. “I don’t really want to get into it. There’s no reason for both of us to be upset.”
He crouched down, ears low. “You need to do something for yourself so you aren’t sad anymore.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Self care.”
“I’m not always so good at that.”
Freddie head-butted me again. “It’s not hard. Me and Desi do it all the time.”
I laughed. “Yeah, it’s sort of a cat thing, isn’t it?”
“How is that comfortable?” I asked, genuinely curious.
He gave a feline shrug. “Just is. Feels good.”
“I guess,” I said, not really satisfied with that answer.
“How do humans take care of themselves when they are stressed?”
“Lots of different ways. Some people go to spas”
“...or go shopping...”
“Those things take money, though. Sometimes it’s enough to just find something comforting...”
“Some people exercise...”
"...or try and feel beautiful in some way...”
“Baths are a classic way to relax...”
He stood up. “Baths?!”
“Yeah. It’s relaxing.”
“Uh...no, it’s not!”
“You know, you might enjoy it if you just — “
“No, I wouldn’t.”
“It’s nice and warm — “
“No.”
“Feels good on the muscles — “
“Human, no.”
I laughed. “OK, no bath for you unless you need it.”
He huffed. “Not even then,” he muttered darkly.
I let it drop. “I’m not sure any of these things would help me right now,” I admitted.
“Well, these things are just general ideas, right? How do you normally take care of yourself?”
“Oh. Well, I guess...”
"There you go,” he said, a little smugly. “Do that for a while and when you feel better, you can go back to the world that upset you before. You’ll feel better, and stronger, and maybe you’ll be able to do something to help without getting overwhelmed.”
I rubbed his head and he purred. “You’re very smart sometimes,” I told him.
“I know. You really should listen to me more often. Like when it comes to baths.”
“Self care...” I murmured. I felt a little guilty thinking about myself at a time when so many people were hurting. But Freddie was right; it’s easy to get overwhelmed with so much going on. It’s easy to freeze up and feel like there’s nothing you can do to help. Sometimes it’s necessary to take a step back so you can be that much stronger when it’s time to go back into the fight.
Take care of yourselves, Peeps. Things will get better. 💐 🌷 🌹 🌺 🌸 🌼 🌻