While at Academy Tuesday, I bought a tarp and a few more of the inexpensive throws for the Feral Fam. This morning the tarp and throw were set up with food in bowls place upon it. Only I forgot that cats don't like that crinkle feel or sound. Only MJ braved the feel and sound for a quick snack. Cali and Mama Cat just kind of looked at the whole set up and it looks like they don't trust it. Camo hasn't shown up, yet and I hope it is a yet. I went outside with a kid's fishing pole with a little plastic fish tied to the end of it, to play with them and get their attention. The only good thing is they didn't run away but they also didn't play. At first it seemed like Cali had been left alone...she was out there by the firs lying in the sun, but no MJ and no Mama Cat but Mama was behind her in nothing flat when I went up to the gravel road to play with Cali just a bit. Yes, I am too emotionally invested with the Feral Fam but you just can't help falling in love with them.
There is so much amusement in people observing. Even though it was a Tuesday and not a usual day for heavy traffic at the Amish store, it was rather crowded...crowded with people who have no body presence. People crowded around the counters and aisles, which aren't wide by any means and left their baskets in the middle of everything. One group of friends conversed the whole time I was shopping, in the middle of the store which made traffic patterns disrupt. The biggest decisions were being made in front of the baked goods. The second busiest and crowded spot, by the free samples. You might have thought these were starving people but they were more interested in getting something for nothing...come on, for some cream cheese and pretzels? On a side note I am glad many wineries have gone to the pay for tasting route. I've been with people who want the free buzz and believe me it is not pretty and it is even uglier when they find out the tastings are not gratis. Really, there is more to life than scoring free stuff. The ladies in the booth behind me at Carrabba's were a little more interesting yet a little sadder. They were laughing and cutting up more like teenagers than women of an age closer to eighty. I was reading in my booth but could not help laugh at their infectious joy of life. The commentary on broccoli was worth the price of lunch and I thought of it too late to buy their lunch anonymously. Toward the end of their lunch as they contemplated dessert one of the ladies lamented that although she had enjoyed their visit, she knew she was loosing her mental capacities and distressed over the news she had been diagnosed with dementia. You could hear the emotion in her voice as she told her friend how much she had enjoyed their friendship and the fun they had over the years. She recalled difficult times they had gone through with the loss of their husbands and now the almost dictatorship their children ran and were imposing on them. As her feelings ran deeper the cadence of their conversation slowed especially as the one lady grasped for the right words to say to her friend. I heard a few sniffs and the sound of finding composure. The friend who received these love filled words took some time, it sounded like there were a few pats on the hands stretched out across the table...she too said how much their long time friendship had meant to her and the joy of having fun and laughing would remain with her always...then she said, well till I too get a diagnosis. Silence and then laughter...that kind of laughing with tears involved. The server seemed to know that something meaningful was going on in that booth and there was a moment when she could approach and ask if they would like for her to box up the remainder of the meal. Oh yes, bring the boxes, but we'll box it ourselves....the server left and I heard giggling...the lady with the diagnosis said to her friend, "are you going to take home all that broccoli?" No, was the response, I am going to make you take it all home. We should have substituted for the broccoli. Nah, we wouldn't have had anything to complain about. And like that, they were out the door onto their next stop. You have one of those gratitude moments right there, thinking of my own friends, both those I have known forever and those who I've known for a shorter period of time but feels like we've been lifelong friends. Man, I am getting closer to the age where these conversations might begin...with a diagnosis...I might forget who you are and what you mean to me but if we can laugh, you'll be like a whole new friend to me.
Once again, reading Wilma Dykeman this afternoon. The copy I have of Look To This Day is not autographed like the copy of Explorations, so I believe I will mark in this book instead of putting bookmarks in every page that has a quote that speaks to me. Today I have read some of her thoughts on winter and alongside winter thoughts, when we enter a quiet season. So many times we think of winter of some sad season but you know, it's not always sad...it can be quiet and restorative. It is a time of renewal. It is the preparation for new beginnings. It is for putting down roots.
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This morning Camo rejoined the happy little group known as the Feral Fam. It is not unusual for Camo to be gone but this was the first time it was an all day occurrence. I almost beat them outside to get grub on the tarp but Mama Cat got out to the rock that she sits on to stare into the window at me before I could get all the food mixed and ready to go.
These have been good quiet days this week. Today and tomorrow are going to warmer than what we have been experiencing so it will be good to get out and about. Have a few errands to run. The full sun has hit the gravel road out back. Mama Cat has been preening and grooming for about thirty minutes. Now the kiddos have joined her and soon that road will hold countless attacks on one another and even the brave might try to engage mama into the action....think she'll need her second cup of coffee before joining in.
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