My New Writing Partner
Cats are all over the news lately. For one thing, it was International Cat Day earlier this month. Also, a certain US vice-presidential candidate has made childless cat ladies more popular than ever. We are legion, I’m delighted to report. And I recently rejoined their ranks.
Meet Hazel
Hazel and I just celebrated our second month together as housemates.
Hazel goes long
As we become more comfortable with each other and spend more quality time together, I’m beginning to appreciate how she’s helping me with my writing projects.
Future typist?
She’s learning to type, so eventually maybe I’ll be able to delegate to her. Check this out:
By Hazel Grace Carley
Seriously, how do you do that?*
That was her first attempt – pretty impressive, when you consider that both paws may have been required to generate those characters on a laptop keyboard. (I didn’t even know how to make the greater-than sign appear over an underscore – but she got it right the first time.)
Mindfulness coach
I am a rabbit-hole kind of writer – one of those people who can lose track of time and spend too long sitting still as a consequence. Hazel is enthusiastically encouraging me to take frequent breaks. When I sit at my computer in my favorite chair, she often jumps up in my lap. I find this to be a) adorable, b) distracting, and c) an impediment to typing.
The result? I’m easily persuaded to take breaks so we can hang out. I may be getting a little bit addicted to her purrs. They ground me and bring me back to my surroundings. I’m told this is healthful for my nervous system. Under Hazel’s influence, I’m definitely spending more time doing nothing much. Having a relaxed, purring, slightly demanding cat on my lap has that effect.
Idea generator
I get guidance for my next steps while sitting with her. Now, I don’t claim to be as advanced as John Milton, blind in his old age, who composed an hour or two of Paradise Lost every morning, memorized it, and later dictated it to his scribe. I’m not in his league. But in our own humble relationship, rather than disrupting my creative flow, Hazel seems to be opening it up. Somehow, when we’re sitting together and I can’t reach the keyboard, I find myself getting ideas about where to go next – ideas I might not have gotten if I’d just continued typing.
Mind control hazard?
Uh-oh. One last idea occurs to me – should I wonder about my susceptibility to toxoplasmosis, rumored to affect human brains and make us cater to our cats? Do Hazel’s slow blinks bend me to her will?
It’s entirely possible. So far, I’m okay with it, though. Uh-oh….
Are you under the influence of one or more felines? Do tell.
PS *I now know the answer: On a Mac laptop, it’s Option + > (and in case you were wondering, the division symbol is Option + /) Maybe she could have generated them with only one paw, but I think I saw both of them in action. I could be biased.
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