I didn't know him when he was a child so I have only ever known him as Jim or the more serious James. For some reason, though, the young people and children we have in our lives quite often call him Jimmy.
This just makes me smile and brings a happy feeling to my soul. Most of the time that is now how I thing of him now, hence the title for this post.
And the reason I am thinking on this is because I have spent quite a bit of time brushing our long hair cat black cat, Vader, again today. I am just lucky that he comes to me and hops up on my lap when he wants brushing. It makes it so much easier to care for him. It is also so soothing and relaxing to me to brush his log, soft fur.
Vader is also the inspiration for a new children's story I am working on. It may be a high/low concept chapter book or a beginner reader chapter book. I have not decided. He is also a playful cat. The thing he likes to do the most is chase shadows. I have taken several pictures of him doing this and even tried to take a video clip for the first time with my little old flip phone. I have never had a cat that enjoyed this type of game.
I still struggle with having the discipline to work on my stories and write. This past year has been one of the most difficult of my life, but that is for another post, another time. The main point of bringing up the difficulties is that Vader and our other cats have been a great comfort and source of companionship for me.
And this brings me back around to Jimmy. There is thing that not everyone knows about him. He has a very generous and caring heart and that extends to rescue animals. He is the reason we have the fabulous black cat that has been such a great companion to me. If he hadn't insisted we did have the resources, room, and time, we would not have this little one. I would have missed out on a great blessing.
All this also reminds me of one of my favorite books from when I was a kid, "One Kitten Is Not Too Many." That was a favorite early reader of mine. I may need to buy a copy of it again someday, just because it brought me so much happiness when I was younger.
