Photography and Photoshop are two of my passions.  I combined some of my favorite quotes with some of my favorite photographs to make this video.  I would like to dedicate this video in loving memory of my sweet and beautiful cat, Puddin’.  It is simply titled L O V E .

Yesterday was quite possibly the saddest day of my life.  Our sweet little kitty, Puddin’, had another stroke or some other underlying neurological disorder and went blind.  When I woke up yesterday morning I picked up the cat and she began flailing her arms about as if she was confused or disoriented.  Then it occurred to me that she probably couldn’t see.  So I put her down and stood about 5 feet away and began moving my arm back and forth to see if her eyes would follow.  They did not.

We simply couldn’t watch her suffer any more so we had her put to rest.  We will miss her more than words can say.  Last night I wrote a little poem about the experience.

A Letter From Puddin’

Dear Mama and Papa,
why do you look so sad?
Don’t you remember
all the good times that we had?

Dear Little Baby,
you know that we do
It’s just not the same,
living here without you

Hey Mama and Papa,
why so many tears?
After all, I was with you
for over 15 years

Yes Little Kitty,
you brought us so much pleasure
Our memories of you
are ones we’ll always treasure

Well Mama and Papa,
I loved you both so much
Couldn’t you tell
by my soft little touch?

Of course Precious Baby,
your love was most immense
And now that you have gone
our pain is quite intense

But Mama and Papa,
why are you crying?
Just think about me living
and not about me dying

Sweet Little Angel,
why all the fuss?
It isn’t you we cry for
we’re crying just for us

But little one, please understand
we’ll never be apart
You’ll always be here with us
we’ll keep you in our heart

Yesterday, my cat had a stroke.  She couldn’t walk, meow, purr, or even roll over.  She’s doing a little better today, she can roll over some but still can’t walk.  We have to prop her up to feed her and we put her in a sling device to hold her over her litter box.  She has managed to drag herself across the floor a few times, which is a positive sign and she is eating, also a positive sign.  Since she doesn’t appear to be in any pain, I owe it to her to do everything in my power to help her recover.  Today I’d like to share the story of how we came to know Puddin’ along with a few of things she’s taught me.

We’ve had the good fortune of sharing our home with our cat, Puddin’, for nearly 16 years now.  This means she is going on 80 in human years.  She was a young stray when we found her or rather, when she found us.  She was hanging around the place I used to work and since she was so persistent with her little meow, I simply had to pet her.  She certainly was a lovable cat.  It was dark outside so I didn’t really get a good look at her.

After I came home from work, I told my husband about the cat and suggested we drive by there since we were going out.  He said, “That cat isn’t gonna be there, that was 2 hours ago! Besides, what would we do with it?”  Well I wanted to go back anyway, just in case.  I really had no plans of taking her home, at least consciously.  I mainly just wanted him to see her.

When we arrived back at the office, I got out of the car and called her.  I said something goofy like, “Where’s Mom’s baby?”  She instantly came running out from under a bush across the street.  My husband said, “Well I’ll be damned!”  I took this as some kind of sign and my husband just fell in love with her immediately.  He said we needed to take her home and feed her because he could feel her ribs.  “Yeah but we don’t even have a litter box or cat food or anything and I’m not sure I want an indoor cat.  What if she has fleas?” I had a million excuses but we decided we’d just feed her and keep her as an outdoor cat.  Yeah right!  That idea lasted for all of about two seconds.

We took her home and since we didn’t have any cat food we gave her tuna and milk.  We let her come in and we put the food on a plate in the foyer.  She lapped everything up in record time.  Now that I could see her in the light, I thought she was the most beautiful cat I’d ever seen.  It was those huge eyes; so big and beautiful.  She reminded me of an owl.

After her feast, we opened the door for her to leave but she didn’t want to go back outside.  NO WAY!  As far as she was concerned, she had hit the mother lode, the jackpot, the lottery!  The funny thing is she’s never been out since!  She loves being an indoor cat and loves living the life of Riley.

We originally named her Savannah but then started calling her Puddin’ because my Dad had affectionately called her that once. It was a name she responded to quite well and it seemed to be a better fit.  So we kept calling her Puddin’ and it just stuck.  She unfortunately has a slow metabolism, and is now a big fat butterball, weighing in at nearly 22 pounds.  While she no longer does back flips and now needs to be carried up the stairs, she continues to bring us much joy.

If you are lucky enough to share your home with a cat, then you know the wonder of the fabulous feline.  If you are one of those people who doesn’t like cats, I’m sorry to hear that.  I don’t understand how anybody can dislike any animal; it makes no sense to me.

Animals behave as designed by nature.  They are usually not mean spirited unless they are mistreated.  Obviously, I wouldn’t have a pet shark because their behavior isn’t really all that compatible with humans. Just because cats don’t jump all over you, slobber on you, and lick you to death doesn’t mean they don’t love you.  They simply have a different way of showing it.  Whenever I hear someone say they hate cats it reminds me of not liking someone because of their skin color.  I guess prejudice isn’t limited to human beings.

There’s an Irish proverb that says, “Beware of anyone who dislikes cats”.  My feeling is that people who don’t like cats simply don’t understand them or don’t take the time to.  I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned from my cat.  If you’re a cat lover then you can relate, if you’re not, then I hope perhaps I’ve made you more open minded to enjoying these magnificent creatures.
Things I’ve learned from my cat:

1.    Sleep does the body good
2.    Comfort is highly underrated
3.    Baroque music is soothing to the soul but silence can be golden
4.    Getting your back scratched is one of life’s great pleasures
5.    You learn when you explore; after all, the world is your oyster
6.    Stretching after a nap is highly recommended
7.    Showing no expression makes us appear less judgmental
8.    You can learn a great deal by being a good listener
9.    Don’t hesitate to give affection to those you love
10.  Your crap should be covered at all times
11.  It’s essential to be fastidious with your grooming habits
12.  Even if you’re smarter than everyone else, there’s no need to let it show
13.  Don’t worry about what others think of you
14.  It’s best to live life on your own terms
15.  When you go out on a limb, be sure to land on your feet
16.  A persistent little nudge can pay off big time
17.  Even if you’re just a kitten, see yourself as a lion
18.  Independence is wonderful and so is companionship
19.  If you have that wide-eyed, innocent look, it’s easy to get anything you ask for
20.  Purring is an excellent way to show appreciation

Are you living life in the present, crying over the past, or dreaming about the future?  The other day I mentioned the quote,

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it The Present ."

The present is a gift, the past and the future both reside in your mind.  While it’s certainly a great idea to visualize your future, it’s counterproductive to spend too much time there.  As for the past, there’s certainly nothing wrong with taking a stroll down Memory Lane.  However, it’s wise to let go of that which no longer serves you and stop carrying the burden of the mistakes of your past.  The past is gone and the future lives in your imagination.

We’ve all been guilty of not hearing the sound of opportunity knocking at one time or another.  Maybe we just didn’t recognize the opportunity at the time.  It’s the old shoulda, woulda, coulda.  As for the future, taking action today is the best thing you can do to prevent you from worrying about tomorrow or having regrets.  Worrying about the future is an exercise in futility.  By not living in the present, we miss the beauty and joy of what’s happening now.

One of my hobbies is photography, an enjoyable pursuit that allows us to capture today’s images, which will become tomorrow’s memories.  However, artistic photography is much more than a means by which to record history, it’s a true art medium.

Photography is a subtractive art form in that the photographer begins with the entire world and must selectively extract the elements that portray the essence of a place or subject.  I photograph images that intrigue me on an emotional or artistic level and then do my best to capture and highlight the intrinsic charm of that magical moment.

The ability to suspend and preserve fragments in time is one of the reasons I love photography.  The other is the art of seeing.  It requires me to be totally in the moment, cognizant of these magnificent vignettes of everyday life.  The world is my canvas and I feel privileged to share my vision of this fascinating planet with others.

Being in the moment allows you to focus on what’s in front of you.  Many people go through life in a trance and don’t stop to take the time to live in the moment. They’re going though the motions as if they’re on autopilot.  Some people also tend to think that by multi-tasking they’re accomplishing more, when they’re really not giving either task 100% of their focus.

Once I visited a physician who asked me to explain the reason for my visit.  In the middle of my explanation, he began reading my chart.  Not only did I find this to be quite rude, it was also quite inefficient as it’s very difficult to read and listen at the same time.  Notice I said I visited this physician “once”!

Think about the instances when you’ve been so engrossed in something that you totally lost track of time; it could be a hobby, a book, a movie, dinner with a friend, or anything you love doing.  That’s called living in the moment.  When you’re living in the moment you’re living in the present. If you’re not living in the present, you aren’t enjoying the gift of today and the world of may never discover the gifts you might have contributed.

When I was younger I used to get caught up in the whole Christmas shopping frenzy.  The day after Thanksgiving, a day that has come to be known as "Black Friday", typically marks the official start of the Christmas shopping season.  Now that I’m a little older, I avoid going near crowded shopping centers like the plague, especially on this day.

In honor of the Christmas Holiday I’d like to share one of my favorite quotes.

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery.  Today is a gift,that’s why it’s called The Present ."

Living in "the present" enables you to enjoy all of the gifts you have today without spending time regretting yesterday or worrying about tomorrow.