"...and just like that, our cat days were over...."

If you've seen the movie Forrest Gump then you will probably remember Forrest's transitions between phases of his life began with "and just like that" and ended with "my ______ days were over". And just like that his shrimping/army/running/etc. days were at an end. Two weeks ago, we realized our cat days were over.

Two Saturdays ago we returned our two cats Pepper and Piper to the adoption agency where we got them. Almost a year to the day that we got them, we passed the joy of pet ownership on to another cat family. We had been talking about doing this for the past six months. We'd offered to friends and neighbors. We posted on Craig's List. We'd even talked about just leaving the door open and letting them wander out 'on accident'. Fortunately/unfortunately, our consciences wouldn't let us go with the last option. So, we contacted the adoption agency where we got the pets and told them we were bringing them back.

Stephanie and I waited until the last minute to break the news to the girls. That Friday night we gathered the girls around us and informed them that in the morning we were going to take the cats back so another family could enjoy having them. We were completely unprepared for the responses we got:

"All right! I HATE it when they jump up on my bed at night!" (EDEN)
"Yeah!! No more cats!" (BRITTA)

Stephanie and I were rendered speechless. We were ready to launch into all of the reasons why it was not a good idea to keep the cats any longer only to find that the girls were already in a heavenly orbit anticipating total cat-less-ness. There was nothing more to be said.

The next morning we loaded all the cat paraphenalia and the two cats in the van and took them to the adoption agency. There were not really any questions asked. We left feeling like we'd just avoided another potentially uncomfortable discussion. We spent the rest of the day cleaning the house and vacuuming cat hair off of everything. At the end of the day, floors and counters were gleaming, and the smell of cats was completely absent.

In the two weeks since the cats have been gone, we only remember the cats fondly. No feelings of guilt or regret. I mean, come on - no more scooping the cat box!! No more watching to make sure the doors don't get left open. No more cats pawing you in your sleep. No more scratching of our couch. No more fur balls underfoot as you turn a corner. No cat food on the floor. AND we were able to reclaim the second bathroom. Truly, our cat days are over.

Normally we aren't able to walk away from our obligations this easily. So, we keep wondering when the other shoe is going to drop. So... is that it? Is it really just this easy? Based on our experience, YES!!