Reflection of Real Life

During the holidays I was playing with my grandchildren at my daughter's home.  One of the items we were playing with was the dollhouse and dolls that go with it.  When I saw the mother and father, I just had to take a photo and reflect on how it portrayed reality.

As you can see, Dad is fully dressed and looking dapper while Mom is missing clothing and an arm.  As usual, the man is relaxed and put together while the woman has been doing all the work with home and kids.  You know, life just ain't fair!

Thought for the day:  Sometimes I wonder if men and women are really suited for each other.  Perhaps they should live next door to each other and visit now and then.     Katherine Hepburn

Henry the Gentrified

Again it has been awhile since posting, and during that time Henry has become quite comfortable in his new life.  He has now had all his vaccinations, deworming, ridden of fleas and ear mites and been neutered.  Through all that trauma, he has become more attached to me rather than rejecting me.
He now does typical cat stuff such as sitting in front of the computer screen while I'm trying to use it, curling up on my lap while I'm watching television and batting items around the house.  He actually follows me around like a puppy.

 

 

He and Maxine have come to some type of agreement which is nice.  Henry loves to sleep with me when I go back to bed in the morning after Brian goes to work.  He shows up some times during the night but seems to prefer to wander around during that time.  I do wish he would realize he can show his love for me in other ways other than licking me; at times he even licks my hair. Not good.

He has become quite a handsome cat, and I am still a bit baffled as to why I love him so much.  I find myself having a great amount of respect for his ability to survive in the wild battling predators, weather, disease and traffic.  He is a miracle cat in my eyes.  Now and then he will sit by the patio door and watch birds, squirrels, etc, and I wonder if he longs for the old life.  However, he has made no attempt to escape to the outdoors.

Quite a few times in my life I have learned to "never say never".  I was never going to get another cat, but fate won out and now Henry David is a big part of my life. 
Thought for the day:  Cats are connoisseurs of comfort.  James Herriot

Present Moment

I have been pondering lately the difficulty of grasping the present moment.  Humans seem to be able to think of the past and dream of the future, but living in the present is extremely hard.  I am guilty of it, no doubt about that.  In fact, I have always loved looking at the past through photos, books, thoughts, memories, etc.  I am finding the more I think about living in the present, the less thoughts I have about the future.  Perhaps it comes from being in my 50s and realizing I have more past than future, and the present is quite important.
It seems that we are able to view the past through tainted lenses; we remember the good and forget the bad.  Our minds skew the past and polish the future, but it's too much effort to change the present. We also view it through our own personal experience.  If you asked three siblings about their childhood, you would most likely get three different responses.  We are all individuals with our own perspectives and thought processes.  We always seem to think the future will be better.  Once this happens, then this.....    So it makes me wonder, is our present really that bad that we can't enjoy it?    Children seem to be able to live in the present until they reach puberty and start thinking about cars, dating, college, etc. 
This morning I saw this video which touched me greatly and made me want ever more to live in the present moment.  It's really all we have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBVJuA0jr6Y&list=RDNBVJuA0jr6Y

Thought for the day:  Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Buddha  

The Old Milwaukee Road

On occasion I will walk on a road outside Colfax that makes a nice loop back into town.  I have noticed that people like to drink beer and litter on that stretch of road which is a pet peeve of mine.  So last time I walked with my husband, and we picked up cans.  We only made it about 1/4 mile before bags were full so will have to make another go of it at some point.  Below is a photo of what we found and why I now refer to it as the Old Milwaukee Road.

This experience confirmed a couple things for me....Wisconsin folks love beer and some people are fools.

Thought for the day:  "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
-Albert Einstein

Got My Eye on You

Henry has been creeping out more just to see what is going on.  For the most part, he stays in the basement or at the top of the steps.  However, on occasion, he will check out what might be going on in other parts of the house.  Below is a photo of him watching us in the kitchen and dining room.

As a typical cat, he does things on his own time and when he feels like it.

Thought for the day:  "Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." - Anonymous

Pennies From Heaven

Normally I am not one who would believe in our departed leaving coins around for us to find, but since losing my sister in June perhaps my thoughts have changed. I once knew some one whose husband had passed away, and she found pennies everywhere.  Below is a photo of the pennies I have found in various places in the past two months.  It seems to be more than one would normally find and so it leads me to wonder if there really is such a thing as pennies from heaven.

Most of them have been found on the street or sidewalk, but the last one I found was sitting right in the middle of the floor in one of my closets.  This is not a coat closet but a storage type closet, and I have been in there many times.  This one caused me to really take notice and pause. 
Maybe there is nothing to it at all, but right now it makes me feel better to think that Lynda might be telling me that all is okay.  Of course, I have joked that if she really wants to say hello, leave a couple of $50's. 

Thought for the day: 

“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”

Henry David Thoreau

Too Much Loss

As I have ventured outside in this colder winter-like weather, I have found it chilling me to the bone.  Normally I don't have an issue with cold weather and in fact, at times I can embrace it.  So this got me thinking (not again!) about why the cold bothers me this fall.  Then I realized that it was a reflection of my own soul.  Since losing my sister in June, I have not really been able to fully deal with her loss.  Perhaps the warm sunny days of summer helped me put it on hold, but now the change of seasons has truly revealed the state of my soul.  It is dark, cold and full of loss. 
It is difficult for me to grasp how quickly one can be gone and yet life goes on.  It makes me think of my own demise...will the lives of those around me continue as always?  Do we put so much effort into living life only to be forgotten so quickly?  It makes one wonder why we toil so hard and worry so much about life when we know it will end, and the world will continue to turn without us.  Perhaps that is why we all hope for some thing beyond our earthly constraints.  We couldn't possibly end after putting so much into our own existence and that of others. 

Well, I must deal with this loss.  I am just not sure how to do it quite yet.  Maybe I need to spend some time at her house in order to truly comprehend that she will no longer be there.  I have been looking through old photos and understanding our history together.  I am grasping that losing Lynda has set me adrift because she was one of my caretakers; some one that knew me and cared for me my entire life.  She along with my parents and so now they are all gone.  It makes you feel a bit orphaned.
All this has also made me realize just how much loss there has been in the past two decades.  I have lost many special aunts, uncles and my parents.  The host of characters that made up my formative years such as neighbors, family friends and church people....all gone.  There has been the loss of a family dog and three cats.  You begin to realize why the elderly feel like there is no one left.
And so I must take a look at the condition of my soul and do whatever is necessary to get it to a place of warmth again.

Thought for the day: 

“Faith is the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see”  William Newton Clarke