Win $5,000!

Purina Yesterday's News Cat Litter is having a 'Do-Gooder' essay contest. The only eligibility requirement is that you must own a cat. All you do is complete a super duper short survey and submit a 300 word essay. If you win, $15,000 will go to a local charity of your choice such as a Recycling Center or Animal Shelter, and $5,000 cash will go to you! EVERYONE eligible should enter this contest because one tree will be planted for each entry.

Seeing this contest reminded me of the important role a cat has played recently in my family's life. Unfortunately, the cat does not live with us anymore, so our story is not eligible for this promotion. So, I've decided to share our family's story here (but after you read our story, don't forget to go and submit your essay at http://www.yesterdaysnews.com/DoGooder/):

Cats! I love them. My husband….about as allergic to them as one could possibly get. We have talked about our kids having pets in their lives before, but the conversation usually ends up with a couple of beta fish as the solution.

As luck would have it (my luck, not my husband’s), a beautiful cat appeared on our back doorstep Super Bowl Sunday 2007. We left her alone hoping she would return home, but after a few days she had made it clear she had no intentions of leaving. We began feeding her, and my beautiful blue eyed baby boy fell in love. He would sit on the cold kitchen floor staring out at her through the sliding glass doors. Sometimes they would play games together by putting their hand and paw up to the glass and moving them around…it was too cute.

Over time we decided to accept full responsibility for the cat since she obviously wasn’t going anywhere. My husband agreed that she could live on our back deck and could come in to the garage during the winter months and when it rained. We took her to the veterinarian and had her checked out, and gave her a name: Callie.

I would like to add in here that I know my husband loved the cat. I would not let her step paw into our home, but Chris would let her walk through the home from the garage to the back deck all the time. I have also seen him let her in to eat the Cheerio’s off of the floor. And, let’s not forget about me catching him on multiple occasions talking to her on the back porch as he was grilling. Yep. He will deny it to his death, but he loved that cat, and that makes me smile.

My son Alex could not get enough of her either. He played with her every day. Every morning he would wake up and feed her fresh water and food (okay, most of the time it was with mom’s help). But, Callie made me realize how much responsibility my one and a half year old could actually handle. She helped me to see Alex’s full potential. He was absolutely capable of getting out a bowl, scooping out some food, and carrying it over to the door…and he loved doing it!

Callie loved us too. She showed us her love by bringing a bird, mole, squirrel, snake, and lizard to our doorstep. Ugh. Thanks Callie!
We had Callie for almost a year, but one day our doorbell rang and a couple said they thought we had their cat. It turned out that Callie’s real name was Tiger. Tiger had lived with this family for eight years until they moved. Tiger must have gotten turned around in her new neighborhood and gotten lost. After Tiger had gone missing, it snowed, and one of their daughters had written ‘Goodbye Tiger’ in the snow. How sad!

We were so happy to have been able to return Tiger to her real family! And we were so lucky to have had Tiger (Callie) in our lives for the time that we did, which ended up being over a year! She helped me recognize Alex’s potential, and she helped teach him to love, care, and help be responsible for others. (This was good training, as Alex was blessed with a baby sister shortly before Tiger left us!) Thanks Tiger!

9/11

If you had asked me eight years ago if I would ever be married with kids, I probably would have said, “only in my wildest dreams.” If you had asked me eight years ago if I would ever have questioned my personal security as an American I would have said, “Only in my worst nightmares.”

Today I find myself with not only an amazing husband, but also two incredibly awesome miracles I call my children. Today I also find myself remembering September 11, 2001 as though it were yesterday, waking up and watching CNN from bed just in time to see the second plane hitting the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

This morning when I woke up my thoughts were clear. I am living a gifted life. I am not worried about where our next meal will come from, nor am I worried about our children suffering from exposure from the elements. I do find myself pondering many other thoughts such as who I am supposed to be, what my place is in this world, and especially today, how can I serve our community, country, and our world? The answer to all of my questions is simple. It is for ALL parents. What we give to our community, country, and this world is an amazing future: intellectual capital, through our children.

It is our responsibility to teach our children right and wrong, to understand love and hate, to drive for excellence in scholastic accomplishments. It is our job to pick them up when they fall down, help them understand the eccentricities of life, and teach them to hold their heads high justifiably because they will help to create a world of peace.

Peace does not come from balanced books. It does not come from markets. It does not come from Democratic elections. It does not come from the glory of a well versed speech or a stoic silent leader. Peace comes from the understanding of others. The understanding of others comes from our children. Our children come from us.

So, tonight I will go to sleep thinking of the gift given to me by the 2,974 lives lost because, while I did not know a single one of them, they have greatly impacted my life by helping me realize who I want to be, and what I can do for them, and for our country. And because of that realization, those 2,974 lives have impacted my children proving, that while lives were lost, their spirits are living on.