1.  Can we all agree to just pick 40 things right back up and keep it moving?

2.  I mean sure, I could dig back through my files and see when #109 was published but that just leads to long apologetic blog post preambles.

3.  I guess that was a little melodramatic.

4.  The point’s moot anyway since I got curious. #109 was published back in September.

5.  Gee, I guess our post didn’t implode under the weight of that acknowledgement after all.

6.  Five long months though…

7.  MOVING RIGHT ALONG.

8.  Life has been life-ing particularly hard these days.

9.  People have flowery needlepoint pieces for times like these.

10.  That which does not kill us makes us stronger or You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.

11.  Those are technically true, for sure. Most of the other ones are too.

12.  side note: Everything happens for a reason may be true but someone up to their eyeballs in pain could do without it.

13.  Anyhow, I think my needlepoint right now would look something like this:

This is some m*therf*cking bullsh*t and I would like to be on the other side of it ASAP please and thank you very much.

14.  Maybe we could add some daisies around the edge for decor.

15.  Enough doom and gloom, let’s transition to some of the lighthearted hijinks more suited to 40 things. Five freaking months gives me plenty of material.

16.  I know, I know…moving right along.

17.  Mittens showed up in October.

18.  There’s something about Halloween that makes the cat distribution system zero in on our house.

19.  Our last two rescues were kittens, but Mittens is a full grown cat.

20.  You might not think that would matter seeing as all three fall into the feline category but at the risk of sounding indelicate — well, you’d be wrong.

21.  Turns out kittens take a whole lot of acclimating but they’re at enough of a baseline so you start on even footing.

22.  But a grown ass cat? She shows up with history, experiences, her whole life as she’s known it coloring her version of who we are.

23.  Roughly translated it came to don’t trust nobody, even nobodies offering food.

24.  Getting Mittens on board with living here was a glacially paced marathon. The only sprinting we saw was her lightning streak to the basement where she hid for oh so many days.

25.  I won’t lie. I believed in Mittens. I held the faith, but at one point even I wondered if we owned a basement cat now.

26.  I’ll fast forward so y’all aren’t dragged through the process like we were.

27.  We had an isolation bedroom period but after a few days Mittens demanded her freedom. She swiftly chose to create a secluded cat corner on the lowest level.

28.  Thus began a lengthy basement hibernation punctuated by mealtimes near her armchair fortress. Eventually we moved feedings to the base of the stairs and then up to the landing.

29.  We had meals on the landing for a good while — come up, eat, lie around for a bit, scurry back to her chair. Lather, rinse, repeat.

30.  Finally I convinced Mittens to climb the last five stairs for her food. Girly loves her nibbles, that’s for sure.

31.  Once she decided to stop hiding in the basement Mittens began hiding in the dining room chairs. Bit by bit she started popping out during the day to sit near me then inched toward trusting the rest of my family.

32.  She was our biggest wintertime project, and a lengthy one at that.

33.  Also on the fall/winter schedule: completing college applications, a December trip, navigating the usual healthcare mess, and round two of covid isolation.

34.  Somewhere in there I finally managed to steam clean our bedroom carpet. Let’s just say Gracie’s done her damage.

35.  We’ve had this nice string of sixty degree days here.

36.  I always forget sixty-ish degrees in February somehow manages to feel cold but even so the birds are singing and it’s a nice break from bitter cold.

37.  I’m pulling hard to get these last few out.

38.  Mostly because the one all encompassing thing in my life at the moment is the one thing I really can’t write about here. If you know, you know.

39.  If you’re looking for fun go google Cat Distribution System. You can really have a blast on TikTok because who doesn’t love a steady stream of cat and kitten videos.

40.  And we made it. Happy Friday. May your weekend bring all the delightfulness of a warm winter’s day.