The 2-for-1 Rule

It’s all Dagger’s fault.

I seem to have developed a cat dander allergy in recent years. Dagger, our lovable tabby, likes me most particularly. Whenever I leave my bedroom door open, he makes a point of laying on my bed – so I try never to leave it open, except of course, when I forget. Then he jumps onto my bed and sleeps, and later, I lie down and don’t.

He’s never been the best at grooming himself. We used to laugh when, as a kitten, he’d give himself a bath. First he’d swipe his paw a couple times across his mouth, then he’d wipe-wipe at his ear while lick-licking at the air. Back he’d bring his paw to his mouth, but again no tongue action until the paw was once more at his ear, then lick-lick in the air. In all fairness, he’s gotten better since then, but he’s never been as interested in personal grooming as his sister. Shiva’s a stickler for hygiene.

So there I lie, not sleeping because I’d woken up at 2 a.m. and, what with the sneezes and the drippy nose, I couldn't get back to sleep. And I remembered what I had wanted to practice during Lent.

Last week, someone in a study had shared, “When the kids were little, we told them that if they said something negative about someone, then they had to say two positive things about them.”

It was actually the second time I’d heard her say this, but this time I thought, “I could do that,” and I wrote it down so I’d remember – except, I didn't. My memory’s a bit like a sieve sometimes, especially when I have a lot going on, and honestly, I had a lot going on last week.

Monday and Tuesday, I tried to remember what it was I was going to work on for Lent. Gratitude? I’d thought of that, yes… I was going to put up a giant sticky note and, each day, add things for which I’m thankful. I’d already thought about how I’d design it and use different colors, and where could I find some fine line markers so I could add all the names I’d want to put on. There was the whole VIM team… the people from Caring ministries… Missions… the Concerns and Actions team… all the musicians… Maybe I’d post it on my door and offer to give blank sheets to other people who wanted to do the same thing…

About then, I realized that this had morphed from a possible spiritual practice into something else entirely, and I went back to the drawing board. That’s when I heard the 2-for-1 idea again. Maybe I could do that.

Over the weekend, I had one more idea, but decided it wasn't right, so I tried to remember the other one – which brings me back to why I’m awake at 4 a.m. As I lay in bed, I processed the day before and remembered a moment when I said something in a way that I wished I hadn't. Why did I say it that way, just mentioning the one part that I wished he’d have done differently – when I could have said so many other things good about the person, his gifts or his effort?

And that’s when I remembered the 2-for-1 Rule. Since I couldn't sleep anyway I got up. Dagger almost tripped me as he waited like a shadow on the top stair.

You gotta love your pets.