It has been a while since I have written just for me.  I have missed it.

It’s funny how things can change in an instant; sometimes for the bad, and sometimes for the good. This is one of those instances where change has been good, unexpected but good.

I should give you a little background. Clara, the beautiful cat in the picture, is one of three cats that currently live in my home.  If you know anything about me, you will know that the number of animals in my home can change at a moments notice.  Anyway, Clara is about 15 or 16 years old.  She is a sweet girl, comes when called and can cuddle for extended periods of time.  She loves humans, particularly my granddaughter, who carries her happily from room to room.  Clara does not bite or use her claws on humans.

On the other hand, she has not cared much for other animals.  She is a loner even though one dog and two other cats currently reside with her.  Max, my Chihuahua and Cookie, another one of my cats have been gone for two years. So Clara has remained the queen. She is the one who sits on the highest points while the others remain lower. She is the one who can yell louder than a dog can bark and can swat at the other animals in an instant.  She is faster than a mosquito when she wants to bite one of them, and then she retreats to her own little world.  She has been fighting with Trixie for years.  I have been unable to decide which one of them starts the ruckus but it always ends in me yelling at one or the other.  Frankly, it has been chaos.

One day, not too long ago, I came home and found Clara and Trixie on the sofa.  They were on opposite sides, but each was quiet and peaceful.  I pretended to ignore the situation because I was afraid the peace would end up in a brawl.  It didn’t.  The peace lasted through the night.

The next night was similar, only Trixie and Clara were snuggled on the sofa when I got home.  Later in the evening, when I was settled in to watch Netflix (one of my favorite things to do), Trixie moved next to me in her usual spot and Clara climbed onto my chest.

When I least expected, Clara moved off of me and close to Trixie.  Trixie didn’t move, and Clara began cleaning Trixie’s ear.  The whole episode lasted moments, but it changed our lives.

My son said it was a fluke.  He said there was no way Clara was going to get along with Trixie and she certainly wasn’t going to stop fighting with the other cats. I knew better. Moms always seem to know.

So it has now been about two weeks since the first day they started getting along.  Peace and quiet has become our norm.  After all these years, I can honestly say that the peace is easy to get used to.  I feel like I have a normal home now.  And as I sit at the edge of the sofa typing this,  Trixie, Clara, Cleo and Norton are all on the sofa behind me.  It feels like Christmas, “And to all a good night.”