how two lines became one

we went from the eaux claires one weekend to getting tattoos the next - i'd say it's been a good two weeks. these tattoos were something that we had been considering for quite some time now. we started talking about it back in the winter, maybe a couple months after we got our kitten, lu, in september (who i realize now has yet to make an appearance here).

i have always loved cats, and in my opinion they are wonderful apartment-sized companions who are mostly self-sufficient, which is great for two people who work a lot. i didn't grow up with cats mostly because my dad was really resistant to us having one, even though we had multiple guinea pigs, a chinchilla, fish, and aquatic frogs. my mom is quite the animal-lover. we didn't adopt a cat until a rare rescue opportunity presented itself to us my senior year of high school. ever since i left home for college, i have dreamed about having my own cat. alex did not share in these same dreams, to say the least. he's a dog person - he thinks cats are rude and mean and prefer isolation to the company of people. when he was three, his uncle's cat ran at him and pushed him into a cactus (this is one of my favorite childhood stories of him, despite its semi-tragic nature). his mother is also very allergic to cats - alex is less allergic, but still allergic, and that was always his reasoning behind not wanting to get a cat. but, despite all of this, alex - for reasons that i still can't quite comprehend - surprised me with lu for my birthday this past september.

i think that, at first, neither of us were expecting our house to change much when we got her. we were excited by the idea that if one of us was home alone (which happens pretty frequently due to our opposite work schedules) we would no longer feel quite as alone at home because this tiny being would be around meowing at us all day. what we didn't expect was that we would grow to feel more like a family by incorporating this tiny little thing that needed love, attention, play, food, and treats. alex never expected to love lu as much as he does now. he's been dedicatedly training her and she knows a few words and commands, and he loves to play with her and tire her out. he pets her like she was a dog, and she sure does act like one sometimes. she comforts me on my days spent relaxing at home - she always comes to sit on the couch with me, and attacks me on occasion but i know it's out of love. we play fetch, and she knows to come into the bedroom to wake me up when my alarm goes off in the morning. she enjoys standing on my pillow and meowing in my face. i'm just happy she's paying attention to me. lu has honestly given me so many lessons in unconditional love, and i think i am filled with more grace and forgiveness because of her.

most of all, she has made the place that we live feel more like a home. since getting her, we find that we are much more attached to the idea of "home" and spending time there than we ever were previously. for those of us that live in cities and move apartment to apartment, "home" is a very fluid idea. we have been fortunate enough to spend two years in the first home we ever shared together, and lu has made this home so much more appealing.

our tattoos are bands because lu is a bengal-tabby mix, and she has these beautiful, symmetrical bands around her front two legs. we selected that to represent her, but the tattoo has, at least for me, come to be more than just about her. when alex was trying to decide whether or not to get her for me, his dad said "i don't know why you're thinking about it so damn much. you should just do it." and he took the leap, even though he knew it would be a big adjustment and commitment for both of us. similarly, we took a risk by spending a lot of money going to a music festival. we rarely get to share new experiences together, and having lu and going to this festival are wonderful reminders that new experiences may be risky, but they can also turn out to be the most rewarding decisions we will ever make. every time i look at my arm, i am reminded that life isn't really lived unless you challenge yourself, make choices that scare you, and above all, give as much love to the world as you possibly can.