Today, I had a few more thoughts spurred on by my namesake’s quote that I shared yesterday:

“The truth is, of course, that what one regards as interruptions are precisely one’s life.” —Collected Works of C. S. Lewis” (1994)

Bathroom Breaks. I am often interrupted from cat naps when my mom gets up because of regular anatomical interruptions. Yes, I am talking about when she has to go to the bathroom. I always follow close behind her into the cute bathroom. I love the feel of the cozy bathroom rug and laying on top of her feet. I purr with delight when I sit there.

Mom often recounts how she may be perplexed by a problem, but the act of moving to another room—even the bathroom—can be enough of a change to help an idea come. Sometimes the change of scenery caused by this daily anatomical interaction contributes to keeping more than just physical things moving 🙂

My parents also get interrupted from me if they leave me by myself for more than a day. I interrupt their walk down the hall with a special poop present—it’s how I best show them that I don’t like it when they leave. It seems to work—because they usually stay home for a while.

Once they are home, they talk about the adventures they had while they were gone. My dad talks about how one search for a bathroom led to finding a fabulous restaurant right on the river in the middle of nowhere as they were walking. As they approached the restaurant, mom saw a cow nursing her calf for the first time. You can read about that adventure in daddy’s blog, Hiking With Your Honey.

Compensating for Physical Limitations. One of more difficult anatomical interruptions for both my Mom and me is that she has a frozen shoulder, and it “interrupts” one of our favorite rituals. She used to pick me up everyday and hold me and we would dance to one of her favorite songs. I would just purr the whole time—as long as the song is on the slower side and she wasn’t jumping around like a teenager at a mosh pit.

Before her frozen shoulder, she would also scoop me up when I was in a deeper sleep and carry me if she wanted to move from one room to the next. Even though I am big, I never outgrow receiving love from my owner. If I am just in a light cat nap, I normally hear her and move with her. But if I happen to not wake up, she gently pets me and says “Come on Clive,” followed by a cute noise she makes with her mouth. I get up—and like doing it, because I am doing my part. I jump up onto her wherever she goes, and she can hold me when she is sitting or laying down.

Daddy also does his part too to help overcome the anatomical interruption of mom’s shoulder. When they come home, he picks me up and supports all my weight, and mom just leans in to hug us. Brilliant! Now Mom’s desire to hold me standing up is fulfilled. We dance or stand there for a few minutes. Daddy often sings to Mom, and I just purr. This special time is what we call a “parent sandwich!” We love it, but may not have thought of it without mom’s injury.

Daddy also talks about how he helps Mom on their adventures to deal with her injury. He drives her around on the kayak, changes hiking routes and ensures she is comfortable when they camp.

Spiritual Insights

All interruptions—for whatever reason—are frustrating, but take heart. Through people, pets and any circumstances, God redeems as He accomplishes His purposes—and He provides unexpected blessings in the process.

“A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9, NKJV).

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”(Psalm 27:14, NIV).