Cat OUT--Cat IN

Here's how we keep track of the cat around here......

Is he out? Or, is he in?

These photos are copied off the computer onto 8.5 x 11 paper, taped back to back and hung by a rubber band on our dry erase board in the kitchen. We flip the "sign" around whenever he goes in or out. The cat makes us laugh and this little routine does too. Maybe we have too much time on our hands. But, I'd say it's our way of extracting a bit of humor and joy from our days. It's easier than yelling upstairs "is the cat in or out?" And who doesn't like to flip over a card on a message board?

P.S. On my way to work today, I realized that another reason why we do this is because it is clean (no rough edges, vagaries, shades of grey, or controversy). The cat is either IN or he is OUT. The task is simple and easy to do well, unlike so much else in life right now where there are no right answers and only more and more questions. That's also the reason why I like to empty my paper recycling into the narrow mouthed bin at work, sheet by sheet. It's a job I do well every time and once it is done, it is done.