My Gratitude Journal: FTs

My friend Sam refers to my pets as FTs, short for "furry things." Today I'm expressing my gratitude for the four-legged friends in my life.

Could I write without my faithful canine companion at my feet? I'm uncertain, but since Pirate has been with me for ten years now, I haven't done any recent writing without her right where I can touch her. She reminds me of the song from GREASE as she is "hopelessly devoted." Her single-minded focus on making me happy is humbling.

"Kitten on the Keys" could be the theme song for either of my feline friends. Kola (the Lakota, or Sioux, word for "buddy") is a 20-pound butterscotch tabby, also the original scairdy-cat, but he's a sweetheart. He often sits behind me on my office chair or beside me, purring, while I work.

Kola's littermate, his sister Koi, is one of the most gorgeous calico cats I've ever seen and has become the model for Pyewacket, the companion for my main character in MAGGIE RISING. (If you remember the name from the Hitchcock movie, BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE, you're right! Hang onto that thought!)

My dh named Koi for her markings, like those of an expensive Japanese carp. Both felines have their moments when they get in the way (hence, the "Kitten on the Keys" reference), but they too make good companions during the solitary occupation of creating at the keyboard.

Thanks, FTs, for keeping me company, for snoring at my side or purring in my ear when I need to be reminded that I live in a real, tangible world as well as an imaginative one.

Do you have FTs or other non-human companions who share your writing world? Write in and share!