This is my 20 pound calico cat. She likes to lie in the backyard weeds watching the chipmunks freak out. She’s too fat and lazy to even seriously chase them. But she’s happy lolling around in the weeds that never get mowed.

This is our wild and weedy “front yard.” I put in the hostas and the hanging basket. The other temporary contribution is not my doing.

Meanwhile, mornings seem to be the worse time for her. She’s not sure where she is. She’s not sure who we are. She wails and cries and won’t take her meds. Still in my bathrobe, I sit next to her at the kitchen table, pat her hands, give her hugs, let her rant until she’s spent. Eventually, I slip a calming pill into her mouth. Then she has a cup of coffee.(Well, it’s not real coffee because she’s been having IBS symptoms. But she doesn’t notice any difference.) And that’s the start of our day.