(twelve) or 87 degrees

I made it home!! It feels so nice to be back in Florida- I got in last night at about 9:30pm, and got home at around 10ish. Both of my parents were there to pick me up at the airport, which was a really nice sight to see after the long plane ride (I have a pretty big fear of flying even to this day). When I got home, I was greeted by my one true love- Effy (my cat).

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Although Effy tends to reserve his emotions, he was super excited to see me. He didn’t leave my side until I went to bed. He likes to share space, which is a trait I think he gets from me. He isn’t necessarily what one would call a “lap cat,” but he shows his love and affection in other ways. This suits me perfectly as I’m super allergic to cats, but gladly take medications when I go home to see my kitty.

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Even as I type my blog post, he’s keeping me company, occasionally hopping off his bed to rub his face against me. He’s a bit of a diva, and isn’t one for letting me take photos of him. That’s fine, because he puts up with it just enough for me to snap a few photos and then gush over how pretty he is. He’s grey with white blotches, and blue-yellow-green eyes. His white blotches make it look like he’s wearing little socks and a tuxedo bib. Apparently these are ‘undesirable traits’ for a cat to have, but they make him pretty desirable to me, and I wouldn’t change a thing about him.

I’m a huge fan of giving my pets ‘actual’ names with significant meanings, so Effy is actually short for Efron. He’s named after Ephron, the biblical man who owned a cave that Abraham wanted to purchase to bury Sarah in. Ephron wanted to give the cave to Abraham for free, but Abraham insisted on paying for it. In biblical Hebrew, Ephron comes from the root עפר, which has disputed meanings, but is associated with dust/bits of earth/loose earth. Upon noticing that my Effy was a grey color, I realized the name would be a perfect match for him. I altered the spelling of his name because, just like my family, it’s an Americanized version of the original. The nickname ‘Effy’ derived from that.

I have an intellectual stake in Effy’s name, but also the idea that ‘dust’ is ash, which is symbolic of a whole lot of things. It reminds me of “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust” (yet another biblical reference, although misquoted and taken into modern contexts).

To prevent this entire post from becoming an etymology of my cat’s name, I have included some Florida plants below.

IMG_6202Look how much color! So much sunlight!! How!! Red AND Green!!!!?? Is fall even a season here???
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