Monday, July 9, 2012

ON FAMILY ~ Tedy's Choice...


At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am over 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.
"Yield."
~ LESSON #49
Yield, verb - To surrender or submit (oneself) to another.
Sammy is about to turn a year old the end of this month. Of all of the wondrous things we've witnessed since he joined our little Bumble world, perhaps the most amazing is that not once has our beloved cat, Tedy, raised a paw towards him in any way.
Since the day Sammy was brought home, Tedy has embodied the definition of "yield." At first, I think this was more because he was curious and unsure of who this little hairless cat was living in our home. But as the weeks went by, and it was proven that Sammy was here to stay, Tedy made a choice. He could have lashed out in anger, fear or jealousy. He could have swatted, jumped on or otherwise pestered or endangered baby Sam. But he didn't. He decided instead to yield.
He became a protector, a pal and a patient pet. He has been content to observe, to tolerate overzealous little fingers and to find ever higher perches out of harm's way. As Sam has become more and more mobile, I expect that surely this will be the stage when Tedy revolts. Where he will refuse to yield to the pesky kid. But it appears they have both grown comfortable with each other and their boundaries, making life more enjoyable for all parties involved.
Every now and then, Tedy will steal one of Sammy's toys - it is torture I'm sure to watch balls roll around everywhere and not pounce on one every now and then. In those moments, it is Sam's turn to yield. He does so with glee, clapping and smiling at his furry cat...momentarily...before chasing after him. It seems Sam needs to take a page out of Tedy's yielding notebook more often.

12 comments:

Kaye said...

These are absolutely priceless photos! I love the one where Tedy is looking out the slider and Sammy is looking over his shoulder. So cute!!!

Mike said...

Okay, you've just posted the definition for cute! Adorable pics.

Lin said...

That last one is my favorite. I think it captures the essence of their relationship. :)

My cats have always been good to the kids. I really hate it when the old wives tale of babies and cats gets mentioned--I mean, how ridiculous!! I having a pet is the best thing for kids (under the right circumstances) and teaches them so much about love and responsibility.

A year old already???! Gees, it flies, doesn't it? Don't blink....he'll be leaving for college before you know it.

Janet said...

Great post! So many folks don't give their pets a chance when baby arrives, I'm glad you guys did :-)

JCB said...

I love the relationship between pets and kids. Great photos!!1

kayerj said...

It looks like Sammy and Tedy are best friends. I love the snow angel picture :D

I can't believe it's been a whole year already. Happy birthday to the little one. I'm expecting a grandson any day now.

Anonymous said...

Sammy and Tedy have just melted my heart :) How wonderful for everyone. Those pics are so damn cute and Sammy looks to be getting around (and up) quite well for 11 months! Good job mama. Gage has already been talking about what to send Sammy for his birthday. Since he can only say around 30 words, prepare Sammy for a box of cookies, balls and Elmo.

I {heart} Rhody said...

How precious! What a lovely journey they're having together.

The Gal Herself said...

Dear Sammy's Parents (aka Bumbles): If you can tear yourself away from this delightful gent for a moment (and I know it will be hard), I've tagged you for an award (7/25).

cardiogirl said...

I canNOT believe Sammy is almost celebrating his first birthday! Happy early B-day, Sammy. And that cat is a keeper -- as you already know.

Margot said...

I love this photo album of Sammy and Tedy. They are all so precious. It's hard to believe it's been a year. I like the photos of Sammy standing and reaching. Goodness, Molly, he's not a little baby anymore.

Kathleen said...

These pictures of your beautiful boy Sam and your precious kitty brought tears to my eyes. What a special relationship they have and indeed a great example of how yielding can bring us so much more than resisting.