When I have a big project coming up– say, planting the garden or staging yet another whooha or writing about experts, eugenics and posthumous cleansing– I often look around and say, “Hey. First, get the house in order, and then proceed with the project.” If the house is clean and in order, day-to-day housekeeping chores will require a minimal amount of energy. My remaining energy can be spent on making progress on the project. And, in a perfect world, I’ll have some left-over energy to deal successfully with the unexpected two-week old kitten or whathaveyou.

From Lucky’s point of view, housekeeping is homeostasis– tick-toc staying alive: exchanging CO2 for O2, ingesting water and nutrients, breaking down carbohydrates and proteins, and fat, efficiently eliminating the by-products of these processes, maintaining an internal temperature that is optimal for the enzymes that do this work. The project is growth and development– still tick-toc but far more complex. The unexpected is– what? A change in formula? In feeding apparatus? The exponential growth of something she picked up from her feral mother?

Unlike me, Lucky can’t just pause growth and development and tidy up her little internal house without anything unexpected happening. Lucky’s little body– her systems, organs, tissues, cells, receptors, second messengers, enzymes, promotors, DNA, and let’s not forget about hormones– are trying to do everything all at once, according to a script that, at this stage, allows for very little improvisation.

That Lucky is warm and alive in the guest room with Miss M over a week after being plucked from what was sure to be a nasty brutish and short life is a testament to just how much improv Mother Nature is willing to entertain.

We here at the Farm are an optimistic lot, although pessimism is a guiding influence on our behavior. 

Meanwhile, your thoughts and prayers for Lucky are welcome.