By Dave Markwell

Weird post alert: After a rare and welcome night out at the bar, I arrived home at the sad, but maybe appropriate, hour of 9:30 p.m. to find the cat, Skittles, screaming on the front porch for no apparent reason.

She’s not my cat. She came with the house.

So, I shook my head and shrugged and went inside.

(NOTE: I feed and shelter this stupid “not mine” cat every day. I built her a cat condo. Still, she is NOT MINE.)

Upon entering the house, my little dog, Grace, was staring at me oddly. I know her, but this was still strange. I let her outside to do her biz.

In the meantime, I heard my daughter’s dog, Apollo, barking from her bedroom. I inquired, thinking maybe he needed a pit stop, too. I was happily stunned to see my baby girl and her best buddy, Zoe, lying on her bed with the conspiratorial looks I have seen them with since forever.

I took Apollo outside for his action, but he was distracted by Skittles’ obnoxious meowing and couldn’t go. Frustrated, knowing he had to go, I scratched not-my-cat’s head.

She shut up, and he shit.

Order was restored and the world found its axis.

Except for Grace. She’s doomed.

Inside, the girls continued laughing at their private jokes and life was right.

And, so it goes.

*Original post written in my notebook sitting at a bar 30 minutes prior to Skittles’ screams greeting me:

In a funny year of funny things, and not funny things, we persist.

We move — hopefully forward.

That’s the goal.

That’s always the goal.

But “forward” is a slippery little devil.

It’s crafty.

We can think we’re moving forward, but not be.

And we can feel stuck — completely mired — but actually be trucking right along.

I have no answers or point to this besides, maybe there are no answers or points to many things.

Do what feels right.

Because, after all the debate, you’re probably going to do that anyway.

Live.

Life.

And smile along the way.

That’s important, too.

Photo credit: Robin Malmanger

Dave Markwell is a life-long Des Moines liver and lover. Former owner of Waterland CrossFit and the Waterland Arcade, Dave uses his unique story-telling voice to help small businesses tell a better story, and his love for people to help folks live bigger and better lives. For more info, check out his website: wordsbydave.net