modemgirl

simon is home! minus a collar but safe and sound, and i am overwhelmed by relief and joy.

after freaking out for a few hours after i got home from work yesterday morning, i had a stroke of genius. i needed to invite some friends over to come hang out in my backyard during afternoon / evening, because if anything would lure a scared simon out of hiding it would be familiar, happy voices. i paged the troops just as i lay down for a couple hours of sleep, and later that afternoon they arrived with smiles, music, and hula hoops. just as i was getting ready to leave for work we spotted a timid little face peeking around the corner!! i squeal and scare him back into the neighbours yard, but some with some patience and cookies i soon had him back in my arms.

and…….. i have to say thank you so much, to EVERYONE. you are all so amazing and i am so, so touched at the amount of support i received over the past couple days. old friends, new friends, far away friends, work friends, neighbours, strangers on the internet, and people i’ve only met a handful of times reaching out to offer their support, volunteering to help me look for him, or just offering a kind word and sympathy. as someone who has always moved around a lot and never really “fit in” to any of the communities i found myself in growing up, it absolutely astounds me to have such an overwhelming response from such a huge network of AMAZING people. words are not enough for me to express the gratitude i feel toward all of you.

i know i was likely overreacting, but the thought of no simon in my life absolutely destroys me. we have been through so much together – he is my best friend. to know that there are people all over the planet who recognized that and took even a moment out of their busy day to offer a few kind words of reassurance means the world to me. the socially awkward little girl from rural manitoba is extremely humbled and grateful for the opportunity to call so many fantastic beings my friends, and i hope that one day i will be able to return the favour.

simon has decided to go on an adventure tonight, and i am a bit upset.  i’m really hoping he is in one of my neighbours apartments (he loves to sneak in when he thinks no one is looking) because he is not an outdoor cat and hasn’t been outside since we moved to mount pleasant. otherwise he’s wandering around the dark, rainy night going MUM. MUM. MUM. I AM OUTSIDE. IT IS DARK. WHERE IS MY TUNNEL? MUM!!

i wandered around outside for an hour or so calling him, but gave up and decided to come to the coffee shop to try and get some work done.

fast forward to sitting in the window facing main street, drinking coffee and typing away on my macbook. totally not productive. worrying about my little boy. then a couple hip looking dudes walked by and gave me great smiles, which i quickly returned before going back to watching enthralling frame relay videos (fyi that video it will change your life, srsly.)

20 minutes later i notice the two dudes have returned. one walks up to the window with a notepad and presses it against the glass, with the words ‘you look wonderful when you smile’ written on it in big letters. HUGE GRIN. then they both smile and wander off into the night.

i’m trying to remember a theory i read once, something about not taking the gifts we have forgranted. there are certain things we could never imagine happening, the worst possible things that we assume will never happen to us, and these things will someday be the greatest challenges we will face. for example, i can’t imagine being blind, so every day i try to be conscious and grateful for the gift of working eyes. the same goes for being able bodied, free from disease, relatively sane, from a family who loves me, living in a country where i am free to do/be/say whatever i want (more or less) without persecution. or even things such as every day when i get home and my house is not a cloud of ash and smoke, i am thankful, because i know that could change in a second.

i just think it’s important to keep these types of things in mind and to be thankful for them, because our lives can change exponentially in the blink of an eye. one truck driver having a bad day could miss one stop sign and kill you, your best friend, your nemesis. a mugger could stab you in the eye, someone could fall asleep with a lit cigarette, or leave a ball of fat full of fish hooks out for your dog to find. or you could meet the love of your life, only to have him die of brain cancer two months later. or someone could carelessly let your cat-son out one rainy night… you just never know.

a life without simon is something i just can’t imagine, but reality is fleeting and we must be ready to face whatever randomness the chaos deals us. fingers crossed he’ll be waiting on the couch on the porch when i get home, and tonight is merely a reminder for me to not take his little face for granted. perhaps it’s also a reminder for him – to appreciate his cushy indoor life!