Going To College

He got into college!

We were holding our breath, patiently waiting for the college acceptance letter. It finally came. He got into college! We are sooooooo excited! Franklin is going to college!

Would you like to see how happy Franklin was when we got the news?

• 

• 

Ha Ha, here’s the long story. We are, basically, dog people. We have almost always had one or two dogs. About 6 years ago, we agreed to take care of 2 elderly family cats, to help them live out the last years of their lives. Mac and Sheena were very sweet cats, but it was a pretty difficult stretch, as they both had extreme hygiene issues and there was a lot of cleaning up to do. This spring, Mac, the last of the two elderly cats, passed away. The phrase “We will NEVER have another cat,” echoed through the walls of our house. But, our daughter had fallen in love with her old pal Mac, and she wanted another cat desperately. She hatched a plan to get a cat, which she would take with her to college. Many of her friends had pets, and she really wanted one to snuggle and ease the stresses of each day. According to the plan, the cat would mostly live away from our house at college, coming home for holidays, etc.

As the softie animal-lover in the house, I said, “Sounds like a great idea!” Without researching the college rules AT ALL, we took off for the county animal shelter, "just to look". Well, you know how that goes…… Has anyone ever left an animal shelter empty-handed? No, of course not. We came home with a real cutie-pa-tootie. Franklin. We spent the summer acclimating him to us, our house, and our dog.

After we got him settled in at our house, we decided we’d better check on the rules for bringing a pet to college. Yeah, that would have been good to do BEFORE we got the kitten. But, I let the blame fall squarely on me for not pushing for those answers. Turns out, there were way more restrictions than we thought. We had hoops to jump through, and more hoops inside those hoops, and a whole lot of red tape, and rules for good and proper order, and when we completed and submitted everything, we had to wait to see if the application would be approved. We waited and waited and waited some more. Our daughter went back to college solo.

While we waited for the word, Franklin stayed at home with us. He is a good little kitty, but very full of energy. He often get the zoomies and zips around through the house, bouncing off of everything he sees. It’s very funny. But, it’s not so funny if you are an old, achy, tired dog like Jazz. A dog who has had her share of dogfights, who has spent years chasing and catching backyard critters at top speed, who has actually killed a stray cat in the yard. Jazz is cordial to Franklin, but she also eyes him, and nips when he gets too frisky. She often has had enough of the little whippersnapper. Especially when he goes after her tail. We don’t trust them together without heavy supervision. So, days with Jazz and Franklin involve rotating to lock one or the other of them up for a bit, let them out together for a bit, lock one of them up again, etc. It’s kind of exhausting.  But, we knew what we were getting into, kind of.

So, we finally got the news! Franklin has permission to go to college! We are so excited!

Franklin is officially cleared to become a Lion (haha, that’s the college mascot). He will have to get adjusted to life in the dorm with multiple roommates. He will have to take his job seriously, comforting stressed-out college students, providing cuddles, whimsy, and entertainment when they need it most. He will need to resist the urge to explore outside of his allowed perimeter, and the urge to tear tapestries and dangling lights from the wall, the urge to party down, and the urge to sleep in. It’s a big job, but I'm pretty sure he’s up to it.

I'm a big proponent of pets. I like all of the benefits of love, companionship, empathy, discipline, routine scheduling, responsibility, and friendship. My pets always understand me and accept me. Coming home to see a pet brightens my day. Teaching kids how to care for and share experiences with a pet helps them build bonds that last a lifetime. One of these days I'll tell you about all the different pets we have had. Remind me, K?

When Franklin leaves for college, he will officially transition from our cat to our daughter’s cat. He will become our grandcat, joining status with our granddog Sailor, another daughter’s dog. Sailor is a total riot. She comes to visit us frequently, especially when her momma has to travel for work. Maybe, one of these days, we will have 2-legged grandkids, but, for now, they are all 4-legged.

So, excitement’s in the air as Franklin heads off to college. He's been packing and getting all of his school supplies together. Now, I wonder how he will adjust to being away. I wonder if he will fit in when he gets there. I wonder what he will decide to major in…..

Carpe diem, Franklin! Go Lions! We are so happy for you!