It’s October first.
And when it comes to ranking the months in awesomeness, I’m here to tell you: it’s October, first.
Anne of Green Gables will tell you it’s wonderful merely to live in a world of Octobers. Every cat at Tabby’s Place will tell you the solariums become golden gables every October.
October brings colors that remind us we’re alive.
October brings softness in sweaters and voices and mercies.
October brings the big finale in baseball, that strange, luminous sport that’s all about being safe at home.
October tells cats and humans and chinchillas and legislators alike that our longings haven’t lied, that cozy is cool, that golden light is our birthright.
But before we dive into October’s long-awaited leaf pile, let’s shimmy free from September’s gifts and thefts:
Arrived: Chestnut, Munequita (pictured in top thumbnail), Acorn
Adopted: Diamond, Feldspar, Yzma, Peridot, Raya, Nessy, Princess Charming, Rambo, Opal, Tourmaline, Talenti, Phyllis, Kuzco, Emerald, Onyx
Returned: Ralph, S’Mores, Lemmy, Conga
Forever Foster Fabulosity: Sophia YES THAT SOPHIA YES I AM YELLING YES LIFE IS REALLY THAT MAGICAL AND WONDERFUL AND GRAND and no I cannot tell you the foster goddess’s name except to say that it’s Drew and that you, too, should tell her at every opportunity that she is magnificent
Promoted to the Lounge: Hector
Promoted to the Community Room: Astell
Promoted to the Unlawfully Peculiar Offices of Bucca, Ronnie, and The Development Dunderhead: Finola (pictured in top banner; more on this marvel soon)
Promoted to Heaven: Everest, Pingu, Acorn
Stuff We Learned: Strays come in multiple species. So does courage. Also: pay attention to those annoying flood warnings on your phone.
So blaze your bonfires, kittens.
Carry your torches to those still dumbstruck in the dark.
We know not what October will offer, what pumpkin spiced abominations and sweater-swathed delectations. But we do know:
1) Cats will come, cats will love us, cats will permit us to love them.
2) An unusually cool collection of folk will celebrate their feast days. (It’s true. The October saints are a sweeter variety pack than those Quaker Instant Oats with the tiny blueberries and apples and cinnasmidgens.)
3) We’ll get the new Dune, the new James Bond, and something called an “alternative fish product” (let the record show that Bucca is already angry about all three).
3) Mystery will tickle our chins and kiss our cheeks and leave us launching into November like the meteors we are.
But first, October.
Pictured top to bottom: Finola, Kuzco, Astell, Yzma, Pingu
So happy for Sophia, always loved her!
October is indeed a golden glorious month. Adoptions are wonderful – most all of the friendly gems have been swept up into awesome adopter arms. I will miss Everest. I sometimes would check in looking for mention of the mountain cat. Everest. Old orange wonder. Hold baby Pingu and little Acorn in your arms and find the Tabby’s Place corner at the Rainbow Bridge.