Page 25 - Animal Kin

She came and went throughout the days and one day I real- ized that I hadn’t seen her since breakfast. I didn’t rush out looking for her but over the next few days I called out when- ever I saw a Blue jay. As days became weeks, I just looked closely at all the jays that I saw and knew that if she was around, I might not recognize her. Though there are other possibilities, I can only assume the best- that her depen- dence on us ended and that she moved on. But my heart does momentarily jump when one of the kids shouts out, “Mom, there is a Blue jay out front!” Any one of them could be our mischievous, beautiful Kitty-Kitty. Or not. But I smile each time because I know that each of us now has a soft spot for every bold, screeching, curious Blue jay out there.