A Bicycle Built for Three

Our new kitten Rosa is still doing really well.  After just a week we can already see so many changes in her.  She is comfortable with us and is clearly happy here.  We are thrilled to have her, but it's stirred up some strange emotions. We are finally getting a handle on Rosa's feeding and litter box habits, but it hasn't been without moments of frustration or panic.  We are glad she has a vet appointment this week to look at her fleas and her tummy issues, and despite those things she hasn't slowed down in the slightest.  It has been work, though, to train her and clean up after her.  We have also moved past the worry of her first days as she adjusted, although we still anxiously await a fully clean bill of health.  However, we are feeling this strange comparison to our hopeful future parenthood. To be clear, we don't conflate pet ownership with parenting a child.  We understand many people feel very deeply about their animals, and we don't begr...

Last week I went to a Panera drive-through to grab lunch.  As I pulled forward there was a Jeep at the window, and something compelled me to look down.  Behind its rear passenger tire was a small tail.  Without thinking I threw the car into park and jumped out.  Thankfully the sound was enough to startle the tail to move away from the tire so that neither of us were directly behind the Jeep.  I made a quick reach and found myself with a handful of kitten. Climbing back into the car, I looked down and suddenly realized I had no idea what I had just done.  I pulled forward because, you know, drive-through.  As I waited for my food the cashier and a few other employees crowded around to get a look at my unexpected passenger.  I knew I needed to get the little one to a vet just to make sure everything was ok.  Besides that...I had nothing.  I'd never owned a pet before, let alone a stray kitten.  Husband was, of course, out of town so I...