A thought hit me this morning while I was putting up the dishes, dusting, cleaning the bathroom, and vacuuming the kitchen. I seem to be losing control of what once was, or so I was led to believe, my domain, my castle, my stronghold; where I relax, drink cool beverages and control the flicker. John Huston (The Ten Commandments) came from nowhere and said, "WHAT are YOU doing?" When I heard myself say, "vacuuming," the light came on. Not the kitchen light, the one in my head. Anyway, after hours of staring into this light, I think I've found the answer to "WHAT are YOU doing?"

It began with the birth of a daughter 14 years ago. She hasn't always been 14. That's a recent "blessing". But along with the daughter came something called "family meetings". Now the family meeting is a very useful tool for managing a family. You agree to come together at a certain time and discuss whatever comes to mind. No subject is off limits, and it gives everyone an opportunity to be heard and hear how the other members of the family feel about different subjects. Our family meetings started when she (the daughter) began to talk. This could be where things started getting political. Now there were two of "them" talking and only one of me.

My first reaction was to get something else male into the house. I jumped at the chance to get Tom, a male cat, at least for a few days anyway. THEY had him "fixed," and, while I'm all for animal population control, it seems to have affected his ability to talk. Tom's pushing 10 now and hasn't said a word since that trip to the vet's. So, I bought Deuce, a dog that cost so much money he HAD to eventually be able to talk- no such luck. In fact, he came into the world with a genetic hair loss problem (but that's another story), which keeps him from even barking at Tom, feeling inferior and all that. So, you see, over the course of the last few years, family meetings have come to mean that Tom, Deuce, and I get to hear how our lives are going to go for the next week or so. Even though he can't talk, sometimes Tom looks at me as though I should be eating cat food. Deuce, on the other hand, is content with his chewie and blanket, knowing that he's just a dog who also has this hair problem. All of which automatically puts him at a disadvantage, even if he could say what was on his mind. 

So, the meetings are a bit one-sided, with me voting once and the girls voting twice. I win when I give myself stuff to do around the house. They win when I give myself stuff to do around the house. If you've never tried the family meeting method, think of it as being similar to the U.S. Senate where one party is the majority, and the other party just votes. All voices are heard, but we pretty much know beforehand how things are going to go.

That's how I ended up staring into this light. Although I heartily recommend the family meeting method of management to anyone raising a family, make sure your cat's brand of cat food is to your liking.