Welcome 2021!

Happy New Year, Readers!

Humans made it through a year filled with difficulties and uncertainties, but for us cats, it was one of the best years of our lives!

We are happy cats, with mamma home a lot, and we have zero complaints about 2020. 2020 is gone now, and we realize humans learned a lot about what matters most in life during the past year. 

For us, it has always been faith, family, food, and fun. We will get 2021 off to a great start by continuing our habit of starting each day with prayers of thanksgiving. For those of you who are re-examining your life we encourage you to pay attention to your thoughts and words. 

When humans focus on things they can't do anything about, they are not living in peace - they live in frustration instead. Mamma knows that when she starts to worry about things that are out of her control, anxiety and stress sneak in. We don't want that for her or you. 

How much thankfulness are you expressing in your life? If you want a challenge in 2021, try to get through one day without one complaint. 

As you challenge yourself each day to do this, you may find how easy an attitude of gratitude can be. By this time next year, you will have become outrageously thankful. Take it from us cats: meow and you get treats; climb on the sofa, you get to relax. Focus on the good things that you can control. Focus on being thankful for all your blessings.

Here is one of our blessings from the week - our feral Grigio, who we love desperately, visited us daily. 

We hope 2021 brings you health, peace, and joy.

Purr & Paw,

-Stivali. 🐾

The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals. - Melody Beattie.

Take Action Now to Prepare for 2021

It is the 51st week of this year, and today is the 348th day of the year. Today is the 4th day of Hanukkah for our Jewish Observers, and there are only 18 days left in 2020.

This has been the strangest year for us - mamma rarely goes out, and has been working from home on the kitchen table since March. She watches news programs more than I ever noticed before. The gift I find in this is that she cuddles with us more, and there is a bar on the bottom of the television which is fun for me to watch as it moves consistently. 

Our life is a journey of experiences filled with countless gifts. Sometimes problems overshadow the goodness that exists. It helps to be insightful to recognize love, forgiveness, and any light in the darkness. We are anchored by faith, and practice yoga with prayerful meditation to help heal from troubling times. 

This helps us relax in the present by letting go of doubt and fear so we can truly appreciate everything we are going through, even if it is not what we had planned.

Speaking of plans...

Do you follow our friend, Dr. James A Smith, Jr on Instagram or Facebook? He has a Challenge happening right now where each day he posts one word and asks how you would incorporate it in 2021. On the first day, the component was Authenticity, the second was Resilience, and the third, Grace. 

Intentional planning now for our upcoming year will help us balance our lives, don't you agree? 

Join his Challenge on either Instagram or Facebook or both. He is an energetic motivational speaker who mamma had the pleasure of meeting nearly 20 years ago. 😺 

It'll be fun to see our readers join mamma in the discussion and preparation of 2021. 

In other news, we are happy to report that our little feral, Grigio, has been spending more and more time on the deck as the weather has been getting colder here. 

Have a wonderful week, Dear Readers. 

Purr & Paw,

-Stivali. 🐾

Nobody is going to be at their best during a global pandemic. Just acknowledging this fact can be helpful and validating. We need to be compassionate with ourselves. - Dylan Gee, assistant professor of psychology at Yale University,