Mrs K begins again.
A story of resilience written by Anna Kamensky illustrated by Martinus Van T.
This is extraordinary Mrs K.
What makes a cat extraordinary you may ask.
Listen to her story to find out.
Mrs K simply showed up.
At first she just walked across the garden then passed again and again to finally sneak into the house through the door left a jar.
She was skinny,
Starving and in need of a wash.
Luckily for Mrs K I have seen a film about domestic cats.
I learned that cats don't like getting wet so we didn't wash her.
Instead she licked herself.
Licked.
Clean.
I also knew that cats drink milk so we gave her some in an old blue bowl.
I used to keep all my marbles in that bowl.
Because Mrs K never left us after that day it officially became her bowl and my marbles moved to a shoebox.
Last July on a hot Sunday Mrs K's cheeks swelled up like a balloon.
Dad and I took her to the vet who tried his best to check what was wrong.
Oh how she meowed and how she scratched and how she ran.
I felt sorry for the patient and the doctor as they both looked terrified.
The vet finally announced that she had been stung by an insect and there was nothing to be done.
He seemed relieved.
Mrs K was in pain and really shaken by this visit.
Trembling she took a few deep breaths and a few more.
After a while she started to feel just a little bit better.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
And you they came.
On Monday Mrs K went for a stroll.
Strolling was one of her favorite activities and she did it with great pleasure and grace.
She was walking across the freshly morn long while Mrs Adams was watching her impressive exotic plants.
Mrs Adams usually wears her glasses when she waters but she forgot them that day.
Unable to see clearly Mrs Adams sprayed everything around her.
Everything apart from her plants that is.
The boy on the red bike.
The little blue bird in the rose bush.
The mother with her smiley baby.
Not to mention Mr Adams who suddenly appeared in the door of their house.
And of course you guessed it she showered Mrs K too.
Do you remember that cats don't like water?
Mrs K was soaked,
Drenched and furious.
She was so angry she would have screamed if it wasn't for that swollen cheek.
Instead she ran away to find a dry and quiet spot.
She sat down and focused on her breath.
She was still so mad.
Inhaling deeply.
Exhaling fully.
Imagining smelling flowers and blowing out birthday candles.
Smelling flowers.
Blowing candles.
She was beginning to feel a little calmer.
Smelling flowers.
Blowing candles.
On Tuesday Mrs K went to visit her friend.
Our kitty was very social and loved spending time with the neighbors big black cat.
Everyone knew they were BFFs.
I could hear they were having so much fun playing cat games until the neighbor brought out a bowl of fish crackers for them.
There was no sharing or caring between those two when the crackers were inside.
The joyful sounds were replaced with the kind of eardrum breaking noise that only fighting cats can make.
Mrs K ended up not only hungry but also heartbroken about her best friend not sharing.
She was in floods of tears,
Inconsolable.
The poor kitty ran home and lay down on my bed in sadness.
Luckily she remembered to breathe.
Breathe in one.
Breathe out two.
In one.
Out two.
One.
Two.
One.
Two.
Before she knew it,
They knew they greeted her.
On Wednesday Mrs K went tree climbing.
Oak trees,
Pine trees,
Large and small.
She jumped,
She hung,
She swung until she fell all the way down.
She made such noise when she hit the ground that even the big black cat,
Friend not,
Came to check what was going on.
Oh was she bruised?
Oh was she miserable?
Oh was she embarrassed?
Still lying down she put her paw on her tummy and closed her eyes gently.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Feeling her belly move with each breath.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
The new day was around the corner.
Thursday was going to be the best day yet.
We played my favorite game catch it which goes like this.
I throw the ball and Mrs K catches it as it flies through the air.
She loves it and she never misses a single ball.
As expected we were having a great time playing until I threw the ball a little too close to the wall.
I didn't mean to do that in case you're wondering.
Actually I was mortified when I saw what was about to happen.
Before she noticed another day had come.
You might be thinking that poor Mrs K has been very unlucky lately.
The truth is Mrs K is not a regular cat.
Told you.
She gets stung and scared.
She gets wet,
Upset,
Sad,
Disappointed and even bruised like all cats and humans sometimes do.
So what makes her extraordinary?
Do you know?
Anyone?
What makes Mrs K special is that she takes the chance the new day brings no matter what yesterday was like.
She notices how she feels.
She breathes in and out deeply,
Slowly and then she simply begins again.
So next time when you have a bad day see what happens when you do the same.
Who knows?
Maybe you can be extraordinary too.
Do you want to try it?
When sad,
Upset or just need a break you can follow Mrs K in her breathing exercise.
Find a quiet spot.
Make yourself comfortable sitting or lying down.
Close your eyes or look down and notice how your body is feeling in this moment.
Put your hand or a soft toy on your tummy and take five deep slow breaths.
Exhale until there is no more air left in your belly.
Breathe normally paying attention to your tummy.
What is your hand or your toy doing as you breathe?
If you notice your mind starting to think of something else this is what minds of even most extraordinary cats do.
It's no big deal.
Simply bring it back to your tummy again.
Open your eyes.
How was it?
