I Will Not Marry a Cat

“If you don’t finish every grain of rice you’re going to marry a cat.”

I slowly turned to face my mother who was eyeing my unfinished dinner in a vaguely threatening manner. She was dead serious. So, by virtue of being a curious kid, my brain was instantly filled with dozens of questions.

What if I told the cat no when it proposed? What if I ran away from the cat at the altar? Can you marry cats in the state of Minnesota? My mother never earnestly replied to any of these questions, but there was one inquiry that she never failed to answer in complete honesty.