Who’s that pussyfooting in front of my computer screen? Take your pick of one of seven cats. We have Sylvester, Marmalade, Spook, Tygrr, Bear, Oscar and Catzilla. (Yeah, she really deserves the name, a meaner beastie I’ve never met!)
Cats need love, petting, stroking, adoring. And they make that known by being in the most inopportune place at the most inopportune time, I swear.
Today, I’m filling out a form for a contest (why oh why do I do this?) and there sat Bear. Between keyboard and monitor.
“Hey, Bear!” Stroke, stroke, stroke. Bear is a very manly long haired white cat with a black tail. He weighs in about 18 pounds so virtually every square inch of my 19” monitor is filled with fur.
“Want some treats?” This is usually good for luring the cat off to one side long enough to finish about 60 seconds of quick typing.
No. Bear wants no treats. Bear wants to be petted.
Pet. Pet. Pet. Stroke. Brush fur back, brush fur forwards. Lift the tail and see if I can see the screen to write anything else.
Nope. Just a blizzard of white fur.
So, why am I busy writing about cats when I should be writing about …er…writing?
Because sometimes, some things are just as important as finishing that chapter, just as important as writing that blog post, just as important as ten minutes in your life.
Listen to the cat purring, your kid squealing with a belly laugh, your husband talk about his day. Take ten, enjoy life outside the book for just a teeny bit.
And then shove that cat onto the floor, sit your butt down and get back to work!
=)
carrie
I know exactly what you mean! We have a herd of cats, and every single one of them wants to sit in my lap when I'm writing. I think they know I'm busy, and just like little kids, want me to pay attention to them *right* now!
ReplyDeleteThe truth is, there's always something to distract a writer. The distance between a wannabee and a finisher is someone who can prioritize when to write and when to pet the cat!
I, too, have two cats who constantly want to lay their heads on the keyboard or curl up in my lap. Then the dog gets in the act too. Nice picture of Bear, btw! :)
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm lucky...my dog just likes to lay on my feet, keeping my feet warm, when I'm writing! Cats and dogs...two different animals, lol!
ReplyDeleteBear likes to sit on my monitor too....dangling his furry tail over the front of my screen, swishing it back and forth.
ReplyDeletewonder what he's going to do when i get that flat panel? lol
carrie
My cats are all outside, but when I take the laptop out in the summer to try to write on the back porch, Gabe (large and black; LOOKS like a bear!) invariably makes himself at home on the keyboard.
ReplyDelete