Fish out of Water

This morning the family cat, named Cookie, discovered where we had relocated our beta fish, not a good way to start the day. My eldest really wants a dog, (I do not therefore we are not getting one), settled on Saturday with the idea of keeping the fish. Sure, I bet the cat will spend less time on top of the piano now.

So as I transferred the fish to a fresh small glass container, she carefully added the colored stones, shells and a sizeable faux diamond. Down to the computer she went and printed off a sea background and named the fish “Bubbles”. Despite the beta diet of a small pinch of flakes every couple days she found the move must have gotten his appetite going so even without the cat she may feed him to death instead.

Everyone was moving slower than normal this morning, and with heavy feet my eldest was off to her room to get dressed for the day. Shrieks, screams and a waterfall of tears followed moments after she left the kitchen as the cat had managed to dump the fish out of its new home and onto her bed.

I ran to the room to find her freaking out and the fish laying on the bed. She began to holler how she hated the cat and how we should get rid of the cat for killing the fish. Off to the kitchen to get another container with water so I could scoop the fish up and see if it was still alive. Sure enough it was. But my daughter wanted the cat to HANG!

Fish happy to be back in water, she continued the scene as I began to strip the bed and clean up the mess.

“I Hate Cookie!, Don’t you Hate Cookie for killing the fish?”

“Well the fish isn’t dead its just fine, it is certainly shocked, but its alive and well in the bowl.”

“I Hate the Cat, I never want to see the cat again!”

I shared with her that, “No I didn’t hate the cat, (not its biggest fan at the present moment), but I did hate that the cat created this mess.” She stopped for a moment. And before she could continue on her rage and keep her focus on the fact that the cat had murdered the fish, despite the obvious evidence to the contrary I repeated what I said.

This isn’t a Looney Tunes cartoon episode where the cat is the villain and actively is conniving ways to capture a bird, or in this case a fish. Yes I’m not at all impressed that the cat didn’t just go into the bedroom and sleep the day away as she normally does. I’m not at all pleased that I have to strip the bed, get a fan, mop up the mattress, I’ve got lunches half made, kids need to brush teeth and put socks on, bags need checking and double checking yada yada…you see where this is going. But amid the chaos I still didn’t hate the cat.

Hmmm…There is a fundamental difference being hating someone/something versus hating what that someone/something has done. The grace is being to see that grey area or fine line in order to divide the emotion.

In that moment I saw the grey, and that line helped to split the overriding emotions around the situation and that of my daughters’.

Its easy to get caught up in the moment and emotion. How many times have you been able to look back at a time, moment or person/place/situation and see the grey well after the fact. The grey is always there but it just takes us to be present and look for it so we can move through with grace.

Phew! Good Recover and an even better Present!

Namaste!