Dear Addie,
I’m pretty confident if there were awards given for tipping chaos scales we’d clean up - just saying. But it’s true! Having walked this journey for some time now chaos is the norm and from my experience, if you think too long on some things it more than likely won’t happen and I’d rather say well that happened than live with wonder and regret (for the record I do have my limits) Having said all we recently added not one but two new tiny, furry feline family members “Greta the gray-t” and “Sir Hazelton the 9th” (the 9th being our 9th current family member human or animal) or Greta and Hazy for short.
Now truth be told we had been talking about getting a cat for some time now, not one but two cats even made it in our family vision board we made for the 2022 year - foreshadowing? Perhaps. The whole process seemed pretty simple, especially seeing it is that big sister Clara works at a pet store and is always sending us sweet pictures of cats needing homes. Side note: I want them all! But for as much as I wanted to become the next cat lady we already have two crazy hounds and I didn’t want the last years of a mature cat's life to be running in terror away from them! We were going to need kittens if there was a chance at a peaceful coexistence in all this. We needed furbabies that could grow into our chaos and not be unfortunately placed into it. We’re loud (like really loud) and always moving.
Now before you think we’ve completely fallen off our rockers adding these sweet (mischievous) babies to our dream team several studies that show social benefits to individuals with autism and having family pets. . For children with autism, a companion animal can be a supportive tool for social interaction, emotional stability, to help increase their independence and reduce stress…um sign me up!
Addie, we’ve only had these sweet babies for a few weeks, but I can honestly say the overall mood around here has mellowed out a bit. The animals are all getting along and Ruby our trusty hound either thinks she’s a cat or they are weird-looking puppies as she loves to clean them and sleep next to their kitty playpen. As for you my dear, while you’ve been struggling as of late with your emotions and behavior, I’ve already seen your interactions changing with them spanning from unsure (they were roughly four weeks, super tiny, and running everywhere when they arrived) to unbothered, to gently inquisitive and you now even know their names individually. Bravo Ad! I think we are well on our way to a beautiful relationship.
And the tipping the chaos scale award goes to…us…it’s us Addie, but it’s an award we will proudly accept.
Welcome, Greta and Hazy!
Love,
Mom
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