windows

In my old apartment, Hope had one window to look out of. Granted, it took up the whole wall, and looked right out into the back yard where there were things like cardinals and stray cats and gophers for her to drool over. The window in the kitchen had the AC unit in it, so she couldn’t sit in THAT sill, although she did try. (Why, Hope? Why? You can’t even see out of that window. Please tell me why.)

But in this apartment, Hope has eight windows to look out of, each with nice wide sills for her to stretch out on like a satiated lion. The bathroom window looks out on an air shaft, but that is her preferred perch when I’m in there. I love how she follows me around still. It’s almost nerve-wracking. Like I want to tell her to get a life.

Then there’s the little alcove in my hallway with a nice big window that also looks out on an air shaft. Not a good view, but sounds of the other animals who live in the building reverberate down that air shaft from time to time, meowing cats, barking dogs, and Hope sits on that sill, fur quivering upright in attention. And need.

The windows facing north are prime spots for Hope in the morning since, basically, they are in my bedroom, and I am there in the morning. So naturally Hope needs to be within viewing distance of me at all times.

The windows facing east give an interesting perspective because they look out on a tree-lined street, but also there’s a roof of a shorter building right below those windows – and pigeons strut by, so Hope has a lot to drool over. Also, those windows get blasted with sun, and it is hard to describe the flatness of Hope when she lies in the sun on those sills, the flatness and the lethargy. I will go over to her and scoop her up off the sill, and she is so relaxed and hot that she keeps her body slack and flat, so she’s like a dishrag hanging over my hands. It is beyond adorable.

She now lies in the window facing north, right by my desk (naturally, because I am sitting at my desk, so where ELSE would she be?) staring out at the cars going by, and sometimes her eyes are open, sometimes they are closed. She is alert, yet also sleepy. She alternates between two polar opposites without any problem.

I struggle with the same thing.

Hope has acclimated to our new digs better than I have.

Hopefully I’ll catch up eventually. I’ve always been a slow learner.