Who Am I?

When I was a child I had a lot of time to think. I spent most of my time alone with my teddies and my ‘zoo’ of pets. I was accustomed to that kind of quiet life and attracted to creative outlets like music, writing, and art. I felt happiest when I was creating.

 

Raised as an only child, my mom, dad and I lived in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada across the street from a dairy farm and down the road from a mushroom farm. My dad stayed in the city to work so he could support our family and he spent weekends and holidays with us. My half-sister was living in Scotland by the time I was born and was my favourite, and most cultured, pen pal.

 

When I was six, I was writing stories about giant cats that destroyed villages. I’d spend hours laying over my blue swing, on my stomach, winding the swing up and lifting my feet off the ground so the swing could unravel and spin. That’s where I came up with some of my best ideas, watching the world spin 'round, admiring spider’s nests in the holes under my swing seat, eating raw rhubarb and chives out of the garden, and cow corn in the field behind my house.

 

We owned a trailer, which sat on our country property beside the house, and in the winter my mom would set up a heat lamp and cardboard boxes for the stray barn cats who would otherwise never make it through the season. We fed the cats, had them spayed and neutered and I spent time playing in the trailer telling them my stories.

 

To me, my animals were my family. They were my company and like little siblings. A barn cat we named Skinny used to follow me around the yard when I was a toddler. She brought her litter of kittens over to my mom days before she was hit by a car. Since the kittens were too young to be away from their mom, only one kitten survived. My best friend, we named Mausie (sometimes we called her Minnie, or Minnie Mause.)

 

My mom raised her from a bottle and she slept in the palm of mom’s hand to keep warm at night. Mausie turned out to be the most unusual and affectionate cat I’ve ever known. From the age of four, up until she passed away when I was 23, we were inseparable.  

 

As a child I had numerous pets, a big German shepherd/collie dog, whites tree frog, bearded dragon, lop-eared rabbit, Quaker parrot, fish and of course, cats. I even had a cat I called my grandpa. 

 

I was only allowed to watch one hour of television a day, and bedtime was always at seven o'clock, even if the sun was still out. I was rarely enrolled in clubs or organizations; it wasn’t something we could afford. Instead, I was encouraged to play and use my imagination. My mom used her witty Scottish humour and always spoke to me like I was an adult. Because of this, I am told I was quite a comical child who came up with some unusual uncensored statements.

 

Someone would ask me, in baby talk, “Katie, does this square fit inside the circle?” And I’d reply, “Well, not necessarily.” My dad would always say, “Tell me about yourself,” and he'd get a long-winded response, “Well, my name is Katie Hussey, I am six years old, I love my purple bicycle, pushing Mausie around in her stroller, and I don’t believe in wishes, only God’s wish.”

 

My family called me ‘the lawyer’ because I could talk anyone around in circles. I made good cases, to get out of wearing pants, or to avoid going to my first day of kindergarten.

 

When I knew my dad was home early on a Friday, I’d go to the school office ‘sick,’ and when dad would show up I’d bounce around asking, “What are we going to do today, bud?” He knew how much I missed him so he usually took me to the park, or on a ‘daddy date,’ where we’d go out to a movie or indoor roller-skate at a disco arcade.

I now live with my boyfriend Trevor, our three cats (Buddy, Teddy & Arthur) and our two dogs (Wally the dachshund and Effie the sheltie/collie) a.k.a. "Hussey's Housemates."

  

Too often we are asked our credentials first before we are asked who we are. Everyone has a story, and as a writer I think that's the most interesting part.