Responses to Unfamiliar

It is always interesting to note how others react to the unfamiliar including:

• caution
• acceptance
• waiting to see how others respond
• questioning
• disengaging
• eagerness
• curiosity
• exploring
• leaving
• getting information from the most knowledgeable person present
• stress
• excitement
• nonchalance
• rejection
• endorsement

None of these is right or wrong.  These are simply different ways of processing new things. Regardless of our enthusiasm, it's important for those of us introducing change, to be able to recognize and accommodate various understandable ways of processing the unfamiliar. 

Forever Families

Our remarkable cat, Butterfinger, adopted us, as have all of our beloved felines.  However, Butterfinger demonstrated without question the bonds of forever families.  Butterfinger loved the freedom, flexibility and comfort of an inside/outside cat.  One of his favorite perches was sunning on the top of the Suburban. One carpool morning, unbeknown to anyone, Butterfinger was atop the Suburban.  And equally undetected (we now know), Butterfinger hopped off, 10 blocks from home across one of Houston's busiest streets, Westheimer. 

Seven months after his heart wrenching disappearance, Butterfinger appeared during an afternoon carpool drop-off.  Though many cats have similar appearance, we knew without doubt that we'd been reunited with Butterfinger when he not only came readily, happily to the children, but also streaked straight to his food bowl at home. 

Families may be separated by distance and differences, but as Butterfinger beautifully demonstrated, the love of forever families endures.

Sounds of Morning

Many sounds break the evening's quiet and signal morning in our home:

• Beep, beep, beep -The alarm clock
• Meowwww -Tiger announcing that it's time to eat
• Coo, Coo - Our doves
• Click - The light switching on
• Pop - Opening my Diet Coke tab
• Step, step, step - Edgar going downstairs
• Uhh - Gar's first and second wake-up responses
• Blah, blah, blah  - The morning news, weather and traffic report
• Water rushing -Baths, showers and a load of laundry

These familiar sounds remind me that all's right in my world.