Column: The Top

I'll be the first to admit that I sometimes find myself so busy that I will forget to truly enjoy the little things that can make life so enjoyable.

Last weekend I learned a valuable lesson from my kitten Jerusha that was a great reminder to always take time to spend a few moments each day finding something small that can bring a smile to my face.

It didn't take long after finding Jerusha as an abandoned small kitten in the summer of 2017 for her to become part of the family. At her age she should probably be classified as a cat by now, but she has not grown much, is small for her age, and in my ways is still the same cute little kitten that instantly formed a bond with all of us. She certainly has her moments where she is stubborn, but she is a sweet and loving cat who brings smiles on a daily basis. Since she is still under two years there are also plenty of shenanigans that keep us all on our toes. It's not always fun to come home to clean up her mess of paper towels we like to call "confetti", but she seems to have fun making a mess and that makes picking it up less of a chore.

Since we brought her home, Jerusha has always liked to steal things that belong to us and hide them under the stairs. A quick glance this morning and I found half of our Christmas ornaments, four or five cat toys and a toy dinosaur. I have no idea where the dinosaur came from, but it somehow is now part of her stash.

By far her favorite "toy" is a top she found a few months ago and it makes her happier than a head rub or cuddle ever could.

Jerusha proudly danced around the house with the top in her mouth and when she finally spit it out it would never be more than a foot from her. She would take it everywhere. This would go on for several months until one day when she was getting crazy with the top flinging it in every direction and it went missing by our downstairs television. Jerusha would spend hours searching for her beloved toy but could never find it. We spent hours trying to help her and it was sad to see her pout that the top appeared gone forever.

From time to time I would see her searching by the television and I didn't want to tell her that it most likely had been sucked up in the vacuum and she would never see it again.

Saturday morning, I was going to get in the shower and get ready for the day and saw her once again doing a search. She had not done this for a while and I once again felt bad for her and decided that later in the day I would go to the store to try and find her some tops.

When I came out of the bathroom, I saw that Jerusha was by the door waiting for me. This was a standard thing she likes to do so I didn't really pay much attention. This was until I took a better look at her and realized she was sitting by the door with the top in her mouth. Jerusha had found that little thing in life that made her happy.

She proudly carried the top around for hours and it stayed by her side when she was not playing. A few hours later she would once again lose it and I felt awful for her. She just sat on the floor and pouted. I decided I would try to help her and was able to find it in the bathroom. When I went to bed, Jerusha was laying on the floor next to her top. When I woke up around eight hours later, I walked to the bathroom and she was standing by the door with the top in her mouth.

When I'm super busy at work I need to remember Jerusha and her top. I need to remember the little things in life that can bring so much happiness. While I'm certainly not going to walk around with a top in my mouth like it is a pacifier, I need to enjoy the little things.

Thanks, Jerusha for teaching me a valuable lesson. On an unfortunate note, she has already lost the top again.