Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Burden

Early this morning, Penelope and I had a conversation. Penelope was telling me about this great burden that she has to carry. The burden that she feels is beauty. She said " I know that I am very beautiful. And that people always expect that I should always be perfect. And Pat, that is very hard. You see Chester running around having fun. Well, dirt doesn't show on him. Remember the time that I went in the fireplace and got soot on me? Yes, I know how upset you were. You even told me that I spoiled my beauty. And you tried to bathe me. It is hard carrying around all this beauty".
Well, at this point, I agreed with her and told her that she was loved by me and Chester. I was sorry that she was so down, and I gave her a kiss.
Then I took Frida out for a walk. Frida doesn't think about beauty!

3 comments:

patrice said...

I've heard that beauty knows no pain.
Now I know differently.

Laura J. Wellner (author pseudonym Laura J. W. Ryan) said...

Oh, pretty, pretty Penelope! It's tough being so beautiful, it's the expectations of others that can get you down. Penelope reminds me of my white cat with golden eyes, Miss Daisy, she had a bit of a Maine Coon cat look to her, she even that distinctive little voice of one, she was a silky fluff full of personality! To look at her, she was the perfect girl cat, pink nose and all, and she bloomed with beauty every single day of her long life, and along with her beauty...I was SOOO allergic to her (she was the only cat I've ever been allergic to in my life!) Daisy loved getting dirty, a roll in the freshly turned garden dirt made her go crazy, she was a huntress, naughty girl snagged fledgling barn swallows flying out the barn window (how could they not see that blinding white cat sitting on the window sill, I don't know!)...and she loved picking a fight with her black counter-part, Mr. Halloween! Oh, my goodness, she bested him on more than one occasion! So unlady-like...a tomboy with ruffles! Since she's been gone, I still find the fine bits of fluff in funny places (one blanket in particular has several white balls stuck to it, they refuse to depart!) and once in a while, a single fine bit of her floats in the drafts of our old farmhouse...a ghost...sometimes I think I hear her down by the garden, crouched in the chives, calling out that she's caught a mouse. She brought me a snake once...stood at the screen door calling out for me to come see her "present" that she caught for me...as soon as I came to the door, she dropped the little green grass snake and we watched it slither away! Then she gave me the stink eye for letting it get away...imagine that!
When I see your little Penelope, I imagine that she will have such a rich life full of adventures...getting dirty...and such! Give her beautiful little white face a kiss from me!

Phyllis said...

Oh what a great post. Such a fine story on the burden of beauty. What a great children's book that would make with accompanying illustrations.