Tell us about a time when you felt out of place.
A few years ago I went to a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by an extended family member. The relative I usually visited with at that party hadn’t made it due to illness. All the men clustered in an animated conversation about trucks, hunting, farming, and fishing. The conversation was interesting but every seat in that room was taken. I opted not to sit on a random lap.
The cousin group set up in the large dining room carrying on a lively cousin discussion. Every seat in that room was taken as well. Should a person leave their seat , it was immediately filled. It wouldn’t have been right to dispossess a cousin when they were catching up from the past year.
Finally, I found my perfect place at the sink. I washed mountains of plates, dozens of glasses, and sinks full of silverware. I scraped serving dishes and scoured baking dishes to my heart’s content. No one competed for my spot.
Finally, I secured permission from my host and took a dish of turkey scraps to the dog where I got the most enthusiastic welcome of the day. I found a true friend at last.

In the kitchen washing up sounds like the place I would be
LikeLiked by 1 person
The hostees warmed up when she saw my kitchen. Not going back!
LikeLike
I know what to do in there, for sure.
LikeLike
The dogs always have a vacant place, right 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dogs are the best!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Although I love our cats… dogs are more committed 😄
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have thought of fostering a kitten. Maybe I could find one that didn’t scratch furniture.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Our first one did not scratch anything. Neither does one of our two new cats. The third one loves the bottom of our couch and my plant pots which is made from soft wood. It looks terrible meanwhile. And I had to remove my palmtree… he loved eating it.
LikeLike
Are they strictly indoor cats?
LikeLiked by 1 person
No, not at all. If we could not let them out, we would not have cats. But we only have them for about 6 weeks and they need to stay inside about 3 months for bonding reasons until we can let them out.
LikeLike
Do they hurt your birds?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know about the two new ones yet, but Mika did. He was an indoor cat before he came to us but his hunting skill was not affected by that. He caught both birds and mice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have lots of birds. I hate for a cat to get them. I had cardinals nest in a rosebush 18 inches off the ground. The bluebirds raise for clutches a year not ten feet from my back door.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t like it either. He basically did not kill them just took them along for playing. That way I could save about 90 percent of his prey. I think he only caught the ones on the ground. He was not such a good climber.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds like me at every family function
LikeLiked by 1 person
You need to find a good dog like I did.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We can’t have pets here or I would have one
LikeLike
I know chloe would love one. My family member with autism adores his cats.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes she would
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d be your friend too if you brought me a plat full of turkey scraps!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now that’s my kind of crowd! I fit right in.
LikeLiked by 1 person