Andrew and I stepped away from the cafe for a date night last night, and we braved the North County traffic to see CATS at the San Diego Civic Theatre!

Full disclosure, I’ve seen this musical 5 or 6 times AT LEAST. My parents first took me when I was in elementary school (many many years ago lol).

My two favorite things as a child were 1.) cats and 2.) ballet. So you can imagine at 7 years old when I see a stage full of dancers in the most incredible cat costumes ever, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

Sitting in the theater last night waiting for the house lights to dim, Andrew and I couldn’t help but notice the dad and daughter seated next to us. The daughter was 6 or 7 years old dressed in a leopard print dress (I was wearing leopard print pants so we matched), the dad was singing all the songs with her and they were excitedly discussing their favorite Jellicle cat characters.

And it hit me that a little more than 30 years ago I was her, doing the exact same thing with my parents.

CATS the musical premiered in 1981, which means it’s been entertaining the imagination of cat lovers young and old for 38 years! Very few things can manage to hold the attention of our current culture for long, so this, in an of itself, is a marvel.

And it was so cool to see so many children in the theater last night wearing cat ears, cat tails, costumes even… and each of those kids left with an even greater appreciation for the mystery unique to all cats, and perhaps are now inspired by the beauty of self-expression through song and dance.

Next time you’re in the cat lounge take a look at our bookshelf and you’ll find a copy of the book that started it all – T. S. Elliot’s 1939 poetry book Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.

…And I may or may be serenading our foster cats with the soundtrack for weeks to come!