'The Cat's Out of The Bag'

We don't give our parents nearly enough credit. Why am I mentioning this first? It's not a very long narrative, so let's get started.

I recently tried my hand at playing "house" — which was a failed attempt, by the way, because after two days, I wasn't having it anymore. I adopted my younger sister's cat and was so excited about it, I even went as far as ordering him a personalised collar and shopping for grooming materials. There was this unexplained joy at the thought of getting a pet and I looked forward to it.

This is where the story gets funny, I sent him back to my sister after two days. Hahaha, funny? I love Stitch (the cat's name) but he was a different level of obligation I wasn’t entirely prepared to take on. I took my sister up on the offer without thinking about it thoroughly and as much as the idea of adopting "a baby"— as I called him— was fun, the obligations of a cat mum was not something I wanted to fully assume.

Although he was cute to carry and play with, ensuring my apartment stayed kempt while making sure he wasn't maimed or bruised and seeing to his overall needs were all so much to handle.

In a way, living all by myself for the most part of the years since I started college has gotten into my system so much that it's now a part of my personality. I love my space and being alone, I love the quiet and serenity that comes with having a small space that's like a haven filled with my favourite things; from books, to music, to movies and my favourite snacks, my apartment is the one thing I'd miss when I'm eventually done with college. In a way, it has helped me to be more in tune with my inner self and has sort of, affected how I relate with people. I’ve had no need to explain my mood, forcefully socialise or talk to anyone when I don't want to and doing things differently forces all that from me as I'll have no choice than to relate, socialise or explain why I'm not interested in talking, if I'm offended because I'm not talking or if I'm familar with the latest trends— lol, like I care 🙄. To be honest, I love the distance, I embrace the distance. Why? I can't tell, yet.

Moving along, I started this article with how we don't give our parents enough credit and this is me just fully realising and experiencing how being a parent feels. Not that I've not had to take care of anyone else but a cat. I mean, I have nephews and a niece who are left in my care whenever I'm home but I've never really had to think about how to provide for them, all I ever concerned myself with was making sure they were bathed, fed and didn't make a mess. With Stitch, it was different.

I wasn’t just making sure he was clean— which he does on his own by the way,— but also fed and didn't go turning the room upside down. I didn't know if I'll be able to always provide meals for him because I'm still a student, but more importantly, I was worried about his health, about how to train him and keep him indoors because he is so energetic and always wants to play— when all I've ever known how to be is an indoor person and wouldn't want him to be any different. I worried about coming home to meet my apartment in disarray and having to reassemble my things each time.

If anything got damaged, there was nothing to be done, he's a baby, he doesn't understand. I thought about the time I had to put into distracting him from being too curious about everything. The strain, the stress, I just couldn't deal.

Not to be a spoil-sport but cats are very independent animals and this is why I thought we would be a good match but after this experience, I have come to the conclusion that that cats are independent is a cliché because all cats aren't the same and this applies to people as well. While some are independent, others prefer the excessive show of affection and attention and I wasn't ready for such.

Not to say my experience is anything close to what a parent goes through but it was after this, I understood how stressful being one must be. Parents do not only rely on their biological connection to train a child, they care for a child in all areas of the child's life and see to the upbringing of the child through all the stages of development.

In a nutshell, the sacrifice that goes into parenting is not one to be trivialised, really, because no one just knows how to be a parent. It is through trials and errors, making choices you believe to be right and putting in the efforts to nurture the child, among other things, that sets one on the path to being a true parent.

That said, to the parents and intending parents out there, I'm sending you my love and best wishes. The world wouldn't be where it is today without y'all and I thank you for always coming through and being there for us.

Without further ado, I'm signing off today to be back here soon. I leave y'all with a few songs on my playlist that you should really listen to, if you haven't already;

• ‘My Kind of Brown’ by Johnny Drille

• ‘Driving in the Rain’ by Johnny Drille

• ‘Am I wrong’ by Nico & Vinz

• ‘2 Much’ by Justin Bieber

XOXO