A car-loving cat

One thing I've really enjoyed about staying with my parents is their cat, Ginger (short for Gingervere--a name I'm pretty sure was derived from her color plus my little brother's love of the 1967 Camelot). Several Jane Austen adaptations also topped the list of his favorite movies as a kid, and the funny thing is that my sister and I were never really that into them ourselves. I think it had more to do with the fact that while my family owned the multi-disc Pride and Predjudice, the video collection was rounded out with the likes of Mighty Ducks II and one or two other random movies people sent us . . .

But I digress. So, the other day, my dad and Jesse picked me up around 7:30pm at school. As I was getting into the backseat of the car, they both told me to be "careful" multiple times. It was dark and all I could see was that I was going to have to sit on some of Jesse's textbooks. The fact that he would never have been protective of such property didn't cross my mind owing to the line of cars waiting behind us. I vaguely sensed that there was something at my feet--a box perhaps?--but it wasn't until we got to the MTC and I said "it almost feels like there is some live animal down here" that dad/Jesse confirmed the presence of said live animal.

Apparently, Ginger had hopped into the car that afternoon at 3:30 and wouldn't budge. Rather than fight with her, my mom let her stay, thinking she would be home again soon. Well, 5 hours later, the car hadn't yet made it home and Ginger was curled comfortably on the floor in the back seat--though she was holding very still, which is how I mistook her for a box. That and I'm really used to things (like a baby) moving by (okay, in) me and don't notice it so much any more. Once we pulled up to the house, she reluctantly got out of the car and took up her normal post sitting on the dining room table.

But the best car-cat story goes back to the days when Josh and I were dating. One summer night, after having been at my parents' house to visit me, he was driving down the street by the temple when Ginger suddenly jumped through the sunroof! She had been surfing on top of the car for at least 5 minutes.