Tio, The Prince Cat
My lesson of love and kindness
My wife, Susan, and I are baby boomers. Our children are grown, but who we do have living in our home with us are our pets. Dog and cats. We have been a family like this for quite a while, over 7 years actually. We are very close. The cats sleep on the bed at night with us sometimes, the dog sleeps on the floor. One Mom, one Dad, one little girl cat (Lexi), a little boy cat (Tio) and our dog, Clancy. And you know how it is, even though they have names, your animal family friends get nicknames.
So for Clancy, it was Mister Dog, for Lexi — Tiny Cat, and for Tio it was Prince Cat, because he was so regal in nature.
Tio Was My Friend
Tio is my very good and close friend. When I go out to run I have to make sure that Tio is in the house, otherwise he follows me, calling to me to slow down so that he can keep up. Tio is a great alarm clock, and I know exactly when I have overslept because he is right up by my head, kneading the pillow with his front paws to wake me up because it’s like, “C’mon Dad, the sun is up, it’s time to go outside to play.”
I spend most days writing so I spend a lot of time at my desk when I’m not working with clients. Tio would sit there with me, and sleep and play around with my papers and other things scattered about on my desk.
