By Jeanette M. Pintar - with inspiration from Misty

Shortly after Mark and I moved to our current address, we decided to have a combination birthday party for Mark and house warming party. We rented the club room, decked it out with good food, ample beverages, flowers (one for each guest to take) and the company of good friends and neighbors… Including of course, our Misty Kitty.

Misty, however, was not too keen on the idea. She really hadn't adjusted to the new building yet and didn't really like coming out of the apartment. But we felt it would be good for her to get used to the amenities of our new home and she usually did enjoy the company of our friends. At first, Misty was very frightened. She cried and meowed to go back to the apartment. The club room was too big, too scary, too unfamiliar for her. But we took her in our arms and gave her a few treats. We found a comfy chair and helped her adjust to her new environment. Pretty soon she was mingling with our guests and after a while, she fell asleep under one of the chairs.

About twenty minutes later, we were surprised to discover Misty was no longer under the chair. In fact, she wasn't even in the club room! We frantically searched the hall and lobby calling her name. The concierge called us down and asked if we were looking for a small gray cat with green eyes. It seems she had become quite the social kitty and hooked up with some other folks having a party outside on the patio! We ran outside and there was Misty basking in the love and affection of (no longer) complete strangers without a care in the world. (I think they may have even given her some of their salmon spread.) We rejoiced at getting our "baby girl" back safe and sound and thanked the people for watching out for her. We were all surprised at how Misty had turned from quite the "Fraidy Cat" into a "Party Animal." Especially considering how much she wined and cried when we took her out of the comfort of her usual environment.

I think people are much the same way. Everything new can seem so scary at first. We want to run kicking and screaming back to our safety zones but if we just stick it out a little longer, we find the new experiences can be quite rewarding. And even a lot of fun. But we have to coax and nurture ourselves to keep moving through the unfamiliar until we get to a point where we feel comfortable.

--- © Jeanette M. Pintar, Inspired by Misty