Our annual winter storm has hit Texas.  In northern states, this would be called the start of spring, but in the south, when one inch of snow blankets our major cities this is a cause for schools, government agencies and businesses to shutter their doors for the day so that everyone can stay home to enjoy our once-a-year snow day.  Adi and I knew “the storm” was coming, and she suggested we go to Galveston to spend the week with her parents in one of the two family homes.  Galveston wouldn’t get snow, but it would be colder than usual.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed I wasn’t going to see the snow, but I knew the trip was important to Adi because she wanted to visit her grandfather who was recently put in an elderly skilled care facility.  I decided to keep my disappointment to myself, and prepare for a week at the beach, albeit a cold beach.  That’s when I was made privy to Adi’s second idea for the week:

“I say we bring the cats with us.  It’s going to be cold, and I worry that they won’t be alright here,” she suggested.

A little back story about our two cats, Oscar and George.  George has been on the family land for about six years.  One day he wandered up and before long, he was officially part of the clan.  This is how all the cats join the family.  They start as strays, then they get a free meal from one of the tender-hearted females on the land, and finally they are welcomed into the house as a full-time resident.  In an interesting twist of fate, they remain an inside cat half the time, and an outside cat the other half of the time.  Literally, every cat that has ever joined the family has done so in this manner.

Oscar won the tontine of his family brood of one mama cat, one papa cat and five little kitties when he was the lone survivor of his pack after almost a year of being on the land.  You must understand, feral cats walk around the neighborhood, and this plot of land all the time.  There is simply no way we could adopt all these cats and only the most persistent find a permanent home inside the home.

Oscar finally was granted entry this past December when Adi and I left for Hawaii for a work trip and when we returned, we came home to discover that Oscar and his brother, Bernard, were nowhere to be found.  It turned out they had wandered off the land and were discovered by two different neighbors.  One neighbor took in Oscar, fed him, and posted to social media that he was found and was asking if anyone was his owner.  The other neighbor took Bernard to the pound.  Oscar survived.  Bernard never received his pardon call from the governor, and he was “extinguished” after his three-day stay at the shelter (standard policy, we were eventually told).

Keep in mind, I don’t blame our neighbor for taking Bernard to the shelter.  There are a whole lot of feral cats that run around the neighborhood, and everyone tries to feed as many as we can without officially making them a pet.  Bernard just happened to draw the short straw and was taken to the shelter; Oscar was given a reprieve when Adi was able to discover his whereabouts at the neighbor’s garage (this is where social media is really handy).  Adi called the neighbor who had posted that she found a “very friendly” cat that seemed to be a pet.

“We found this orange tabby cat that is so sweet,” our neighbor said.  “We got him fixed and got his rabis shots, but we aren’t sure what to do with him.  My husband has told me, no more cats.”

That was all she wrote.  Adi informed me that Oscar was joining the family.  She made arrangement to pick up Oscar from the woman the following morning.

“We are getting Oscar a collar and he is going to live here now.”

The next morning Adi and I awoke at our usual time of 4:30 am and when we opened the back door to feed George, in came Oscar running through the front door.  We would later find out that Oscar escaped the neighbor’s garage in the middle of the night and came dashing back to his new home.  It was solved, reluctantly on my behalf; Oscar was given a collar with his name, address and family phone number engraved on it to assure he would never be lost again.   George was not particularly happy with this new situation while Bernard would always live on in our memories.

In full disclosure, Bernard would always hold my heart.  He truly was the sweetest cat I’ve ever experienced.  If I had to make my “Sophie’s Choice” of which cat I loved, Bernard would have won.  Unfortunately, Bernard picked the wrong neighbor to find him.

The snow was on its way, and Wesley (our son), Adi and I packed up for Galveston with both Oscar and George in tow.  We couldn’t have another “Hawaii” on our hands, Adi told me.  It took us nearly two hours to get the car all packed up and then get the cats ready for our 5-hour trip south to south of Houston.  Our 9 am departure turned into a 2 pm departure, but Adi was happy, so I was happy.  Her tender heart just couldn’t leave the cats to tend for themselves during “Snowmegeddon”.

We didn’t make it long into the drive before Adi queried everyone in the car, “What’s that smell?”

Instantly, everyone knew what the smell was.

“George is shitting in the car!” Wesley said.

45 minutes into the drive and disaster had already struck.  These cat, which I truly never really wanted, were now creating havoc on our trip to escape the winter storm.

“Pull the car over and Wesley and I will get George cleaned up and we will get back on the road,” Adi said.

I really couldn’t hide my disdain for George at this moment (even though in my heart I know he’s just a cat who had to go to the bathroom).

“Did anyone think to have the cats go to the bathroom before we got on the road?” I asked.

At this point it didn’t matter.

I pulled into the nearest gas station and while Wesley and Adi started to clean up George, I got gas and went to the restroom (we didn’t need another accident in the car!).

By the time I returned from the restroom, Adi said, “George is a mess.  There is no way we can get him cleaned up.  Do you want to just turn around and go back home?”

“Yes!”, was my resounding answer.

“We’re not going to Galveston?” Wesley asked.

“I think that ship has sailed,” I said.  “We are going home.”

The drive back home started rather quietly while everyone processed the last six hours.  Packing the car, cleaning the house, loading up the cats, planning what we would do in Galveston…evaporated in one moment.

Then, it hit me:  Maybe George saved us from something.  Maybe he prevented us from getting in an accident or from having the car break down.  Maybe George knew that I secretly wanted to stay home for the winter storm.  No matter the reason for why this had happened, I have learned to trust that whatever is occurring is always for our greatest good—sometimes we just may not be able to see it.  We must trust and have an unwavering faith we are always being watched out over.

As I sit watching the snow fall with a fire crackling in my sight, I realize everything is perfect even when it seems we are knee deep in shit (literally).  I got to sit in the comfort of my own home for the winter storm of 2022 and my family was with me, safe and healthy.  What could be better than this?

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From the Archives:

Kitties Galore (click to read)