Guest post here from yours truly, Rocco the Cat (bear with me, guys).  I have an intuitive sense there is a lot of tension out there, and also a lot of excitement.  Tension because all is not well in the universe, as our eyes see it.  I feel a lot of frustration, personally, and with the kittens, and also nationally and internationally.  At the same time, Rocco feels excitement over the Olympics, and has truly enjoyed watching beach volleyball and the swimming races with her eldest kitten.  I am also eager for this new school year.  Yet, unlike many of you, my kittens still have two more weeks of summer vacation, with the littlest kitten still on a year-round vacation.  They say it’s darkest before dawn, and so it makes sense that these last few weeks try our patience and create opportunities for forgiveness, mainly on the part of the kittens.  And also great mother-kitten bonding opportunities as we settle in to enjoy the last big hoorah of summer vacation.

Watching the Olympics can make us feel very intensely proud of our country and also amazed by the fantastic athletes from other countries.  And along with those feelings can come the funny question of “what have we done with our lives?”  Here I am, a mama cat, and I have to ask myself, how can I do a better job as a mom? As a cat being?  Am I the best cat I can be?  I feel like I can do a lot better.  If parenting is an Olympic sport, would we win gold?

It’s more like a relay, right? And it’s about the strength of your team, about encouraging each other along and not losing our cool.  Like Lochte and Phelps, swimming next to each other pushes us and makes us better.

I realize that practice makes almost perfect.  Keeping the hissing and growling to the minimum and maximizing content, happy purring.  Grooming ourselves for better moments.  Starting fresh each day, knowing that the great Mother Cat is watching, eager to help if we just ask.

So, press on, mama cats.  As my inner cat says, “Don’t freak out, speak out. And remember to hug.”

Peace out!