By Jan Vicente B. Pekas
For as long as I can remember, our family has always had pets in the picture. We have had dogs that have accompanied us for several years. Overtime, they have moved on, but oftentimes their offspring would stay with us for several more years.
Recently we have also taken in a kitten. When you’re living so far out of the city and among the mountains, you need certain guards that keep out all kinds of unwanted beings. Even if it will take time for them to completely mature.
It had been some time since we raised a cat so young. Our previous cat, with its innate nature of being curious, never came back since last year. This one, being so young, is already trying her best with her little legs in already exploring the house.
Since she is still a baby, it can’t be helped that a portion of our time is dedicated to her completely. Sometimes, even in the dead of the night, we have to check up on her and see what she needs. Like typical babies, you have to spend some time figuring what they want. Only when their cries have stopped that you will finally know you have done the right thing. Though the time spent figuring their wants can take so long.
It’s only been a few days and I feel that we have already gotten used to her consistent cries. I started to wonder if this experience came close to raising me back then, since my parents used to constantly remind me of my own cries as a baby. Their stories range from waking up in the middle of the night to comfort me and my never ending screaming whenever I was hungry.
Still, it never ceases to surprise me how rapid young children or even animals grow. It has only been a few days and the tiny child that first came through our door is already getting fatter and stronger.
I am only now starting to get what old people mean when they say young people grow fast. But It is a heavy feeling when you realize you’re relating more and more with the older folks.
Overtime, the small kitten that cries most of the day will grow and we won’t need to spend as much time with her as we do now.
I feel that we often do the same with our families. As children grow up, their priorities start to include more and more of schoolworks, edging out the time that should be spent with family instead.
The young children in our family before had now grown up to be college students. And attendance for everyone at the dinner table is rarely complete.
Before, the struggle was crying for long hours to get food, now it is about finding the time to be spent with the family. But just like how our parents found time to feed us in odd hours of the day, it’s always possible to make time for family. **
