There are a few souls on earth who you can literally witness being "in the zone." Michael Jordan going up for a dunk, tongue hanging out of one side of his mouth in concentration. Melissa McCarthy nailing her impersonation of Sean Spicer on SNL. An energetic Australian Shepherd happily being put through the paces of an agility course.
I got to witness that with one of our cats yesterday. A bit of background first: Maynard was a rescue from a local shelter. According to his paperwork, he was relinquished at the shelter because a couple had a kid and they said he was "stalking the baby." First of all, don't even get me started on giving up a pet because you birthed a child. But second of all, "stalking the baby?!" How do you even DO that? Babies don't exactly move around a lot. But I digress.
Maynard, ever since we brought him to live with us at the store, obviously adores kids. He has a little perch at the front of the store and many an afternoon will be spent watching the people go by. When a child comes by, he sits up a little straighter and mews a little more plaintively. One day, a lady who works in one of the businesses in our shopping center brought her two small children to our door after hours. I was counting the till when I heard the high-pitched squealing from the kids and the unmistakable sound of Maynard trying to make a new friend through the door. He just keeps asking questions over and over: "wanna come in and play? I have a great koosh we could play with!" I walked over to see what was going on and motioned to the mom that I could let them in if the kids wanted to pet him. She smiled and shook her head. I didn't know if she thought she was bothering me or if she really couldn't let her kids pet him, so I offered again, in mime: "are you sure?" She declined again.
I was a little sad about that. I knew Maynard really wanted to play with those kids. Next to his koosh, his people, his treats and his food, kids are his favorite thing in the world.
So yesterday, when a very large family with at least five kids (I lost count) approached the door to the store with Maynard front and center on the door mat, I held my breath for a second. Would he be frightened? Would he try to run out? It was uncharted territory, and I didn't know what to expect.
The kids came rolling in with their parents like a human tsunami and surrounded Maynard, who flopped on the floor. For a second, the wave engulfed him, and I couldn't see him anymore, so I moved to get a better look, and/or maybe to rescue him. At least seven hands had reached in from all sides to pet his small body, and Maynard floated among them on Cloud Nine. I could feel a shiver going up my spine as I watched. I've seen friendly dogs overwhelmed by less than that. Never have I seen a cat being subjected to that kind of attention and not just tolerating it, but reveling in it--loving every second of it.
Clearly, Maynard was in his zone, and it was a beautiful sight to behold.
The petting continued for several minutes, then someone noticed Stella and off they went to pet her as well. Stella was friendly, but a bit more cautious in the face of so many small admirers. She reacted more like I would have expected a cat to react.
After the store was empty of kids again, I pet Maynard generously, thanking him for being such a good kitty and friend to those kids. Maynard seemed wistful, but seemed to pragmatically accept that his happiness with those kids would be fleeting. I've never regretted Sean and my decision to be child-free until that moment. Yes, it's a silly reason to wish you had kids, and it literally only lasted a few seconds, but if you'd seen how happy those moments made Maynard, I'm sure you'd understand.
It made me really sad to think that Maynard could have been part of a family with kids, if only the parents hadn't been so short-sighted and fearful. Maynard could have been the best friend and loyal companion of a little girl or boy, joining in with them in all their playtime and snacks, always looking forward to the next great adventure with his small human.
But then I remembered that if Maynard had stayed with that family, he wouldn't have been able to be a part of our lives, and I realized that I secretly and selfishly preferred that it worked out the way it did. At least this way, he gets to see kids sometimes, and he gets a lot of love and attention from all the adults who work at our store, and come by the store to visit--sometimes just to see them. Sometimes Ashley, who works at the store, even brings her kids after her shift.
Memo to self: figure out a plan to get more kids through the door...
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