Finding

The tree is down, Christmas put away, for the most part. The house is back in order. There’s a relief in that. I love the tree and decoration, but hate having everything in turmoil. I’ve been trying to keep busy. My Cystoscopy is today. Hopefully, this is the last thing for some time and there is nothing more to be concerned with.

And things are looking up, too. Right after Maddie Rose ‘stole’ or kidnapped the tiny shard of clay, a hair clip came up missing. It is, again, my fault. It was an innocent mistake, really. I took the clip out of my hair while I took a nap. Normally, I’m not much of a napper, but I was up early to get my husband off to work and been going quite a bit for Christmas. I’m not supposed to overdue and it was so warm by the fire. Well, one thing led to another, as it so often does around here.

My hair has been fragile since being on prednisone, so off came the pearl and gold clip. I set it down right next to my cheek, thinking I would hear Maddie’s bell (I never have a bell-less cat around here. You can see why.) if she were to want the clip, but she wasn’t anywhere around and I was very quiet. Still, when I woke the clip was gone, nowhere to be found. Maddie Rose was asleep right next to me, the very picture of innocence. But I knew. I spent a few minutes searching for the hair clip, but I didn’t let myself get too obsessed. I’d done that enough with the clay shard, right?

What is it? The thrill of the sneak and grab, the attention from me, the success she’s been having lately? When I ask her, she crawls onto my lap, purring, clearly satisfied. I wondered if she’s always wanted to be a cat burglar.

Later in the day while fixing myself dinner, I noticed Maddie toying with something under the fridge. First thought was my clay piece, but no, it was the hair clip. Later while cleaning the kitchen, I found the black clay shard, beneath the pet’s food mat. As I studied the two stolen pieces on the counter, (yes, I put them where she couldn’t get them again) I wondered what it was about these two items that had snagged Maddie Rose’s interest.

It’s like that sometimes with my poetry. I never understand why a subject pops into my head, why I struggle to say whatever the poem is trying to say. What I know is, exactly what Maddie knows. For now, for the time being, when the item has caught my interest, it has my whole interest and the reason will reveal itself eventually…or never. Either case, it’s worth it. And then, I understand the satisfaction in Maddie’s eyes.