Good Water

At our house there are many small daily rituals, many established by the cat. For instance:

a) within a reasonable period of time after waking, one must turn on the cold water in the bathroom sink for Lucy.

Just a trickle. Not too fast, and not too slow - erring on either side will merit you an unhappy look. And it is important to keep the cat happy. If Lucy ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. You see, she is a very vocal kitty. It's no secret when something is not to her liking. But, more about that later.

Lucy loves the trickling sink water, hence the name "good water." The water in her water bowl is "bad water," (despite the fact that it is refreshed on a regular basis). On a typical morning, Lucy likes to have good water out of the hall bathroom sink first, then out of the master bathroom sink, in that order. An outside observer, upon witnessing the morning routine would think, "Poor kitty, she must not have access to a water bowl."

I know that many cats love running water, but back in the early days, Lucy's pursuit of water had me worrying about scary things like "kidney disease" and "feline leukemia." But she always checked out fine at the vet, and this morning ritual has continued for many years.

This morning, after drinking her fill from the sink, she decided to stick around and keep me company while I washed my hair. Her contented presence in the center of the bath mat, little feet tucked underneath, purring, brought such a sense of peace. It relaxed me, and eased the frenzied feeling that always threatens to overtake mornings when I smack the alarm clock off. It is good to start the day in a cat's presence.