Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sweet 16


My eldest baby, the king of the household, will be 16 this February. I can literally still remember the day back in 1993, that my mom said "there is an ad in the paper for a family who has Himalayan kittens for sale - you want an Easter kitten?".

When I graduated from college in May 1992, I accepted a job with a rickety company out of New Jersey that hired young college grads to travel around to college campuses and hawk calling cards and credit cards. It was fun for a bit, I got to see part of the country that I'd probably never have seen otherwise (hint: Stillwater, OK is a really cool town!). But the travel grew old, quickly: leaving every week on Sunday and returning home late on a Friday night - AND sharing a hotel room with someone you barely knew. In January 1993, I started a new job with a real company - and ceased the senseless travel. To celebrate, the night I got my offer, I adopted a calico kitty (Snickers) from a local kitty foster home. Murphy, the king, came along around Easter as her partner in crime. Unfortunately, Snickers left us at the young age of 4 and Murphy became the king.

He's a flame point Himalayan with the best blue eyes. If you see him, he just LOOKS regal. Since we lost Snickers together, we've added and sometimes lost a crew. Murphy has seen both Nougat and Gertie come and sadly go. He's now joined by the babies: Roo and Gracie. While there has been jockeying for position in my household (aka jealousy among cats), it seems that they ALWAYS know who is the boss.
I am contemplating calling MTV to see if I can add Murphy to their ranks of the kids who get to celebrate the "Sweet 16" on TV. Should I get him a car and have a giant party that costs nearly $1000 a head? Seriously, his being on the show makes about as much sense as the show does itself :)
Happy Pre-Birthday Murph! You've been with me through thick and thin and are a perfect cat. I hope we have many more years to come!

5 comments:

Lindsay said...

Murphy looks far too laid back to throw the kind of tantrum MTV expect on Sweet 16 :)

Kim said...

What an adorable cat! We have two that are both 8. My husband would not be pleased to know they could live another 8 years. :) Go with the big blingy blowout party!

Kim

Joy said...

Can I come to the party?
Joy

Laura said...

Cheers to Murphy and being your support system during this lengthy wait.

And thanks for posting on my blog! I'll be keeping tabs on you, your little girl, and, of course, the King.

Many blessings,
Laura :)

Barb said...

I agree with Kim . . . my husband would also not be happy to hear that cats live that long - we have 2 that are under 2 years old. I've nominated you for an award on my blog