Tonight is my one-year anniversary with Trixie. My 19-year-old cat, BeeBee, had gone over the Rainbow Bridge 6 months earlier and I finally felt almost ready to welcome a new cat into my heart but planned on waiting until school was out for the summer (I teach school.) I had gone to a friend's house and he told me to check out one of his little-used rooms. When I opened the door, four 8-week-old kittens about bowled me over! They belonged to a girl that my friend was dating at the time and he had arranged to have the kittens there as a surprise for me. Although I wasn't prepared at home - no food, no litter, no toys - I couldn't resist taking the cutest, most rambuntious baby of the bunch home with me.

Trixie was such a wild child that two weeks later I went to the ASPCA to get her a much-needed playmate. I had my heart set on finding a Holstein cat (I grew up with Holstein cows - but you would probably say I was looking for a tuxedo cat) but fell in love with a precious orange and white kitten with a nonstop motor. Bo had a name and a home within about two minutes.

Sometimes the best things in life don't go according to our plans. We've got to be willing to monitor and adjust (teachers will know exactly what I'm talking about.)