The unexpected blessing of a cat

What is it about this cat? I think he came along at just the right time, when I was totally disillusioned with the collapse of my dream of being a "real" writer. It just didn't happen. It's not true that you have to "try, try again" and "failure doesn't exist" and all that. Sometimes you have to acknowledge that it didn't work out and try to be gracious about it. I had also just experienced terrible grief over the loss of my beloved baby lovebird Paco, whom I barely had a chance to enjoy before she died. 

Bentley was completely unexpected, and sometimes those are the best things. The things we hammer away at, the things we think we can't do without, turn out to be relatively unimportant. If it REALLY doesn't want to happen, well then, OK. It doesn't. I will try to admit defeat as graciously as I can.

Meanwhile, I have this cat to spend time with, to sprawl on my lap, to very patiently sit beside my bed to wait for treats. He is soft-spoken and loyal and protective of us, and - what? He is Bentley. What a gentleman he is! Most people I know don't have such good manners.