I have a new man in my life. He treats me like I am the kindest, most fun, person on earth. He wakes me early in the morning, at first gently touching my face, then with more passion, rubbing his cheek next to my own. He sits next to me while watching TV, reaching over to touch my arm tenderly.
I have nursed him through a nasty cold, making his favorite foods, and massaging his neck tenderly. I have put up with his utter contempt for riding in the car with me, only to get a gentle kiss when at last we reach our destination.
Ours is a new love, and it has all of that energy that new love brings. We can’t wait to see each other when we are separated. We take naps together, and check on each other when one has been away for a bit. We both are somehow aware of how lucky we are to have each other, though I am older (by a lot), and perhaps more educated in the ways of the world.
His name is Kashmir Hastings, (named after the great Led Zeppelin song, and Hercule Poirot’s trusted companion), and I had the honor of adopting him from the Animal Humane Society. From the moment I saw him in an ad from the shelter advising that he was found along a highway as a stray (where were you?) and visited him in the shelter, and waited out the time for a health check (URI, hernia repair, neutering), and finally (!), taking him home, I knew that we were meant to be companions.
It has been several months now since we have lived together, and we have adjusted to each other’s presence. My Fur Baby (as he is often called) sits in a chair near the entry waiting to greet me when I return from anywhere. He has learned to fetch and return a ball, play silly games, and sit alongside my easel and watch me paint (critic). I swear that I know him from somewhere, though I don’t know where or how. What I do know is that he is a gift, a treasure, and that he has learned to trust that I have his back, so to speak. Adoption from a shelter is a wonderful option if you have a little or a large space in your heart. You just might find, as I have, that special someone, who you have been searching for, is right there, waiting for you.
Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been
“Kashmir” lyrics – Led Zeppelin 1973
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