Cats and Dreams

I have a reoccurring dream. In it, something wonderful is happening, something rare that I want to take a picture of. I find my camera, focus, and hit the button. But the camera just won't take the picture. Seconds pass and the opportunity fades. By the time the camera will actually take the picture, the shot is gone.

Last night I dreamt I was standing in my living room talking to my Mom on the phone, when I looked out the window and noticed we were having a lunar eclipse. I ran and grabbed my camera, only to realize the eclipse was happening super quickly and would be over within seconds. I snapped a picture right away, knowing I wouldn't have time to change the settings and knowing the picture wouldn't turn out, then raced to get the camera on the right settings... in vain. I got the camera set just in time for the moon to go back to normal. Normal still looked pretty neat so I snapped a couple of photos anyways. When I went back to view my photos, I discovered my first photo turned out amazing. I'd got the shot I wanted, even though I worried I hadn't.

That's life. Sometimes you try your hardest only to watch an opportunity slip away, despite your best efforts. And sometimes, when you least expect it, the opportunity you thought slipped away turns out to be there after all. I love surprises like that.

I also wish that picture existed because it was an amazing shot. But considering it was a cross between a lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse, and something off SuperMario Galaxy, I don't think even Googling would come up with something similar.

I woke up around 1am to find our cat Blackie snuggled up beside me. I had my arm stretched beside me and she was using my upper arm as a pillow while she purred like an outboard motor and gave my arm a lick every few seconds.

Blackie can be needy at the best of times but this was beyond her usual needy behaviour. She was so happy to see me, but me being in bed asleep in the middle of the night isn't exactly an unusual occurrence. Then it dawned on me. The last time she'd ever seen people packing for a move would have been with her previous owners, the ones who locked her in a shed and left her behind. Even though I couldn't sleep through her "OMG my Mommy is still here!" snugglefest, I let her cuddle and purr for about 10 minutes before rolling over and giving my arm a break. So far Oreo is oblivious to the move and Angel thinks the boxes are an amazing jungle gym. But neither of them were abandoned like Blackie. In three more weeks we'll already be in our new place and she'll have lots of new corners to explore.