Kitty Cats and Christmas Trees

  A new family tradition has been to trek downtown to check out the big Christmas tree on Thanksgiving. This year it was rainy and cold so we put it off a few days till the weather cleared. I was excited to try and grab a great shot of the tree with the capitol building glowing softly in the background. It’s always a hoot to try and get the best shot. Between the coldness of a Michigan winter trying to freeze both your camera and your fingers…and the juggling of trying to find the best spot to take the shot (which usually ends up being right in the middle of the street), you end up taking a ton of pictures. I’ve taken hundreds of shots, trying to capture the right angle and get the perfect light.

This year, I took 11.

Oh, it wasn’t because I’ve become some perfect photographer (ha!), or developed a way to get my camera to take great shots on the first run. It’s all due to a little boy cat. My sister is a sucker for animals. She currently owns two dogs, two rabbits and a rat named Spencer. I, on the other hand, have no pets. It’s not that I hate animals…they’re just not a huge priority for me. My apartment doesn’t allow them so I don’t have them. No big deal for me. But for my sister it would be a tragedy. She will coo over any animal in a store, pet anything on the street…which I constantly think will get her into trouble. I’m always worried about fleas or biting or rabies or super mutant rabies that will turn her into a mindless zombie. (…it could happen.) So when she saw a little cat meowing and moving towards us downtown, she immediately went into “OOOOHCUTEKITTYGOTTOPETIT” mode. I did the big sister arm block to try and keep her from getting rabies, but there wasn’t a need as the kitty darted into the bushes in front of city hall. I went back to taking pictures, trying to ignore my sister and mom talking about how cold it was outside and how sad it was that the kitty was wandering around.

Then the bush in front of me started meowing. Or rather, the little boy cat inside started meowing. I was determined to ignore the pitiful cries but my sister looked at me with big sad eyes and I figured I could at least try and coax the poor fellow out of the bush. I snapped my fingers and before I could say anything, the little boy cat was purring at my feet. I reached down to pet him, noticing that he was a little too plump and clean to be a stray and decided to try and find a warm place for him to rest. There had to be an empty box or something nearby so I headed off, thinking I could bring something back for the cat. I was surprised to see the cat pacing me as I walked. Not running ahead, or following behind, just quietly walking right next to me like he was a dog. I went up to the lobby of city hall and walked around trying to find a box and then headed down the street when I ran out of luck there. Around tables and over sidewalks, the little boy cat walked with me. I went down a flight of stairs and he jumped along, I went over a curb and so did he. Finally I passed the police station and caught a lady out for a smoke who said she might look for a box. I walked up the stairs with my companion right beside me and even the officer noted that he had taken a shine. When she was trying to get the little guy inside, he refused to follow her so I led him in and tried to leave quickly and he made it out the door before it could close behind me. I eventually had to pick him up and hand him off to the officer in order to leave. Happy to do a good deed for the little boy cat (and my sister), I headed home without taking anymore shots of the tree.

As much as I’m not an animal person, a loyal little boy cat who followed me around certainly captured my heart that night.

Being Thankful

This month has been horrible for blogging. Between being busy with all the normal end of year issues, I was laid up for a huuuge portion of the month all sick. I barely did anything other than sleep and lay around so writing and taking pictures and having fun adventures to blog about was right out.

Thankfully, I’m on the mend and just in time for Thanksgiving. I really like this holiday, but not because it’s got turkey or parades or those flaky rolls that they only seem to sell in November. I don’t even love it because the family all gets together, although I do enjoy that part a lot. No, the reason I enjoy this holiday is because people’s hearts are focused on being thankful. At Christmas we get bogged down with gifts and Easter is a good time to be grateful for Jesus…but here at Thanksgiving, the very name of the holiday reminds us of what to do. It reminds us as we sit at our tables of plenty (or not-so-plenty) that this is a time to be thankful. Thankful for those who surround us, be they family or friends. Thankful for the safety and warmth of the place where you sit, the provision of the food at the table and even the country where we live. It’s a holiday that moves our focus to what we’ve blessed with and that is a holiday that I look forward to experiencing.

This year I’m grateful for my aunts, who all seem to be having a hard year. I know that they could have let these struggles break them, but instead I’ve been blessed to see them continue to be the strong, loving and joyful women that have always been role models to me. I’m so thankful that God has given me such amazing inspirations.

I’m thankful for a sister and mother who stepped up when I needed them and helped me get better. I’m so grateful for my helpful ‘nurses’. I’m thankful for my friends and their basement and all the time I’ve spent with them sitting around and talking and watching movies and youtube videos. God has been just ridiculous with the friendships He’s given me. I’m thankful for playing darts with my brothers, talking politics with my stepdad and talking religion and relationships with Dr. Al. I’m thankful for trips to Kansas and Kentucky and Arkansas. I’m thankful for getting to spend time with family and the chance to help so many of them move! I’m thankful for the church I visited last week and the people I met there and the opportunity to worship. I’m thankful for the country I live in and the rights I have as a citizen.

I love this holiday because it creates an attitude of gratefulness across the country and I love being a part of that. I love seeing people out during this week and seeing them happy. I love hearing the stories of good Samaritans and generosity that fill the news on Thanksgiving. I love the change it brings in me, giving me the chance to look beyond what I don’t have and be grateful for all that I do. It’s all too easy for me to get bogged down in self-pity and focused on unmet wants and sometimes it takes a national holiday for me to finally start being thankful.

Time travel kitty cats

Have you seen the Charlie Chaplin time traveler video? Long story short… on the DVD special features of a Chaplin film show what seems to be a woman talking on a cell phone. Lots of speculation about what she’s doing and who she is and whether or not it’s visual proof of a time traveler who has amazing cell reception.

I shared the video with my parents and before I could speculate about what the woman might actually be doing my mother came up with “talking to a tiny kitty on her cheek.” Then my stepdad acted out the whole thing, rubbing his cheek and soothing the imaginary tiny kitty and talking about smuggling him into the theater and feeding him popcorn.

My family is crazy, but I love them anyway.

FIRST SNOW!! FIRST SNOW!! FIRST SNOW!!