Out of the 743 concerns parents have when changing their
marital status, the major worry is how their children will handle it. We knew
after the initial divorce discussion with our son, he would want to know what his
life was going to look like. Therefore, we had already started the process of
purchasing a condominium for me so he would know where he’d be sharing his
time. When we told him about it, his first response was what you would expect
any 12-year-old to say: “It’s always good to have more real estate.” Thankfully, he’s a kid who likes to look on the bright side.
After taking stock of our ‘real estate,’ he then realized
that he could finally get the cat he always wanted. His dad’s pet allergy had
worsened over the years, so cats weren’t an option in our house. I told him
we’d have to wait a while so we could get settled in our new place first (and,
let’s be honest, so I could enjoy at least a few months of new, non-clawed,
hairless furniture). So, understanding that getting a cat was not imminent, he
did what any 12-year-old would do: He began selecting potential names for the
cat. Every week he comes up with a different possibility, each of them worse
than the last. His latest chosen name is Fluffy Puffy.
I’ve always disliked pet names based on descriptions. I can’t imagine my former cats, Ophelia and Franklin, would have tolerated
being called Mittens or Whiskers. We
don’t name our children by their characteristics, why would we do that to our furbabies? Although, come to think of it, a name concocted
from our physical attributes might be useful for blind dating. Then again, with
my wild curly hair and middle-aged body, Fluffy Puffy hits a little too close
to home.
So I told my son if we get a cat, he’d need to choose a real
name for him. I reminded him that he gave his fish the regular names Charlie
and Sebastian. He thought about this for a while and finally suggested Mr. Fluffy Puffy.
I’d love to share my son’s bright side attitude, but it
looks like I will soon be a fifty year-old cat lady with the only man in my
life being Mr. Fluffy Puffy. Maybe we should get a dog…
