okay, the kittens

I really can't believe I didn't write about this before. We almost got kittens! We've always wanted a cat (or so), but there was always a reason not to do it, mostly to do with living in no-pets-allowed places. But since we came to Dorfen, the reason is that We Might Be Moving. There's a lot we don't do because this might be the year - we only just got one bicycle for me & Robert to share, and I still don't have a proper bed, and nearly all our furniture has wheels on it. Anyway, the cat was waiting till we settle down. But Kilian loves cats, and it's good for a kid to have a pet, and he's 10, fer petesake, his childhood is more than half over and we keep waiting for just the right moment. I know this is stupid, but Robert doesn't, yet.

So one of the expat community in Munich said her neighbor, a farmer, had some kittens, and was going to 'dispose' of them - people here don't seem to believe in spaying cats, which is hideous and barbaric and a rant for another day - and I really really couldn't let that happen, and besides. Kilian's 10. If we want our kid to have a pet while he's still a kid, we're running out of time. So but Robert was reallyreally stressed, so I had to pick my moment, work up to it gradually and all that, and of course it wasn't that hard to convince him, but it took awhile. He really loves cats too, after all, and once I showed him the photo, he was in love.

Right, long story short(er), Katherine found homes for 3 of the 5 kittens, was trying to convince her boyfriend that they should keep one, I was trying to convince her to let me have both of the remaining kittens, and all the while her neighbor's kid was asking his dad if he could keep them, and getting all boo-boo-faced, and the dad was like NO. So Friday the kid got wise and asked his mother. Remember My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the man is the head of the family, but the woman is the neck. So the kid got the kittens. And we'd already arranged to pick them up Saturday (yesterday) morning, and then like an hour later Katherine calls and says "look, I'm sorry, but..."

So that's how we almost got some very cute kittens. I was going to name them Arriba and Ándale, so I could stand in the doorway and be Speedy Gonzalez, calling them in. Not that cats ever come when you call, I just wanted to stand in the doorway and yell in Spanish. We are all disappointed. R says we will still get kittens, since we got the kids' hopes up and all, but I feel like I did on my babies' due dates: all that build-up, and I know I'll still get them, but I was supposed to have them now, and I don't.