A walk, a cat, and a lesson

This morning the weather was beautiful, so I went for a walk, and on the way I met a friendly, black cat.  She sat with me for a while and purred, and I really enjoyed her company for 15 minutes.  Then, I began to feel anxious that I should leave and did.  She meowed at me in protest, as if to say, "Why are you leaving?"  But I just smiled and walked away.  Then, I felt really bad about walking away.  What was there so important to get to, that takes precedence over relaxing and sharing a beautiful fall morning with a friend?  Maybe I lost sight of priorities some where in the transition from childhood to adulthood.  But, perhaps it is never late to gain that sense back.