Recognizing the importance of rituals and routine

Tootsie, Thalia and Bosco have their rituals. In the evening, they wait in the bedroom for me to come to bed.

Tootsie and Thalia come to get me up at around 5:30 as they figure it is their time for breakfast. One will sneak across my bedside table and hunker down on the crook of my arm, or under the blanket, coaxing me awake.

Tootsie, in particular, will do this meowing loudly to make sure I wake up.

Bosco runs chirping to sit next to me on the sofa in the morning for a cuddle and strokes, once the other two are fed.

We spend time next to each other: me stroking him and him purring and coming closer every day until he is practically on my lap. Then, when he is bored after a while, it is time for me to get up and fetch his food from the kitchen. Without the quality time with him before, he will not eat.

My cats are teaching me the importance of rituals - they need them as markers during the day. I begin to understand that the importance of rituals as milestones for me as well.