We only have one sofa in our den.  I try not to buy leather for animal ethics reasons but whatever it is that we have it has gone from smooth to pebbled.  The darn cats keep scratching it.  The onus is on me; I have not kept up with trimming their nails regularly.  So, reluctantly, we had a “salon” day.  I had the hubs help hold them while I methodically snipped their nails.  No one was happy.  Sometimes the claw’s sheath comes off but this time two nails pretty much came out of our 19-year-old Persian Maya in their entirety.  Poor thing!  The color drained from Burk’s face and he said he could not look.  I found them horrifying and fascinating at the same time.  Our little one still wants to be a vet so I waited to show her after she got home from school.  “Mama, that is FASCINATING!” she said as she examined them.  I felt horrible for letting their nails go too long.  “Look at the blood” she said with all the interest of a kid who doesn’t mind a little gore.  Then she immediately asked if she could bring them to show and tell.  “Sure” I said, wondering how well they were going to go over.  So I put them in a little plastic bag to ensure they wouldn’t get lost and off she went to school with her scientific discovery.  I kid you not I once got extra credit in college for bringing in a cat whisker that had been shed naturally.  We used it literally like an antenna and were able to get a low frequency sound with it combined with the aid of a couple of other things which I have now forgotten.  It turns out the claws were a big success.  Personally I thought it was a cool show and tell but then we’re huge animal lovers.  I do not believe Maya minded having her claws passed around on display; I think she was more relieved to be rid of them.  The American novelist Thomas Berger said, “The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.”  I have always asked questions.  I think it drove my folks crazy when I was little but that is how I learned.  Her father and I both share that love of discovery and it is a lifelong joy.  I am so pleased to see our little one has the same thirst for learning.  Her quest may very well have been started by a pair of cat’s claws.

I recall mentioning before initially not understanding why Feast Days were designated upon the death of a person, as opposed to their birth.  It was explained to me that it was celebrated then because that was the day they went home to be with the Lord.  Grief is such a morphing beast.  I believe almost everyone has dealt with loss in their lives; some far more than others.  On this day in 1998 part of me died forever.  It was the day I lost my father.  My mother and I were in complete shock and could not believe such a big, strong, vital man was gone at just 66 from a heart attack in his sleep.  I made sure my father had a full military burial, as was his due, after having served eight years in Korea as a sharpshooter in the United States Army.  I was told at his funeral that he never lost a man on night patrol.  A proud American Indian veteran, he always wore a flag pin on his lapel way before it was fashionable to do so.  I did not cry today; I just felt numb.  I also did not mention it to my husband or daughter, as there was no use in making them sad as well.  We rarely rent movies but tonight my daughter came across a movie she really wanted to see called “Kubo and the Two Strings.”  There would have been a time in my life when I would have found it incredibly sad.  My little one has already known the death of my mother and it pains me she experienced her loss at such a tender age.  But as she and I watched the movie together I realized the message was one of happiness.  I could not help but think how very fitting it was watching it on this day of all days.  We always carry our loved ones with us wherever we go and most of us are blessed to have memories of them.  And so, instead of mourning, we celebrate their lives and the precious time we had with them.  The American civil rights activist Rosa Parks said, “Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.”  I love knowing that all my father instilled in me, which was instilled in him by his grandmother, is now being instilled in my daughter.  The memories, works, and deeds live on.  Chi hullo li na billia chih.  I dedicate this to my daddy.

Just when I thought I could not love our new lights any more (scroll down and read “Lit” if you’re interested and missed it,) I have just discovered that I can control the whole house with voice activation that I already have for FREE through my iPhone!  So I can say, “‘Hey Siri, Good morning'” and all the lights in the house (that I have programmed) will come on.  This is why I love Apple so much.  And I am sure it is only the beginning.  I will eventually be able to have my coffee maker start at the same time and who knows what else.  I think in the near future we are looking at everything being automatic based upon predictable behaviors.  I know right now I do not have to manually search for movies on TV; Siri does it.  I already ask Siri what the weather is like rather than checking my app.  I have Siri enter my appointments.  Siri Googles things for me.  Siri sets timers when I’m cooking.  I have had Siri map directions when driving.  Siri makes calls for me and I never even look up my contacts anymore.  Siri has found the closest gas station, calculated currency conversions, and texted for me.  Siri has updated my Facebook posts, reviewed my emails, and plays my music.  The late American CEO of Apple Inc. Steve Jobs said:

“Technology is nothing.  What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.”

I pray that the good and smart people of the world use technology to find cures for disease, empower the disabled, and improve the lives of people and animals all over the world.  And now I will say good night as I am headed to bed and turning off all the lights.  “Hey Siri …”

Thanks to having a little one I routinely stumble upon these little vignettes played out all around our house.  I never know what I will find.  On this occasion it was a Siamese and Husky having tea with jam and bread.  I decided to snap a quick picture before I stepped over them, offering my apologies, as I was headed upstairs.  We have a half Blue Point Siamese and wolf/husky hybrids who periodically share a meal together … more often than not purloined from my little one when she is not paying attention.  I love coming across whatever she is doing.  She knows she is supposed to put her toys away before bed and generally she is pretty good about it.  I just do not like stepping on a bunch of tiny things barefoot or stumbling over something in the middle of the floor unexpectedly.  And it seems as if it always happens in the middle of the night when I cannot see.  To avoid getting hurt I have taken to using my iPhone as a flashlight and sweeping the floor with it like a detective investigating suspicious activity.  I have found plastic fish with Native American bears, a wolf enjoying pizza with a lamb, baby dolls with their bottles in her shopping cart, rabbits having vegetables with foxes, and rock collections from our koi pond.  I have seen knights conversing with pink dragons in a castle, rainbow colored ponies, and little rubber turtles in a soap dish.  The wolfies will lay down beside wherever our little one is playing and just listen to her.  It is the sweetest thing.  I have overheard her “in church,” “cooking,” “taking a bath,” and “reading” bedtime stories with her toys.  I notice it is a reflection of her own life and the things we do together.  When I was her age I used to line up all my Fisher Price little people on top of our TV console and play with them for hours.  I also remember having a whole plastic set of tiny babies I played with that had cribs which sort of reminded me of the plastic cartons tomatoes used to come in.  The English singer-songwriter Kate Bush said:

“I had an incredibly full life with my imagination:  I used to have all sorts of trolls and things; I had a wonderful world around my toys and invented people.  I don’t mean I had imaginary friends; I just had this big imagination thing going on.  I didn’t need any imaginary friends, because I had so much other stuff going on.”

That is how my childhood was for me and it seems how my little one’s childhood is shaping up to be as well, which makes me happy.  And now, if you will excuse me, I have a date with a curly-haired little girl who is serving afternoon tea with jam and bread.

I realized the other day I have been passing this same fountain since I was a child.  I don’t know why it struck me on this particular evening.  It is wild to think of how much has changed since I was a very little girl.  I can still remember cash registers that would “ching” when they popped open, and riding backwards with no seat belt in the station wagon.  I have very vague memories of 8-track tapes and nurses who wore dresses and pointed hats.  I remember when there were no plastic bags, and television only had three major channels.  Washaterias were prevalent, as were phone booths.  I imagine a time lapse film in front of this fountain, with people wearing polyester in the ’70’s, then big hair in the ’80’s, to grunge in the ’90’s.  The new millennium has ushered in all sorts of change, particularly people with their heads looking down at their cell phones, which can do everything from starting cars to ordering food.  My father was a painter and when I was little there was a paint store around here.  I would often accompany him when he picked up custom mixed buckets of color for people’s homes and also churches.  When I was barely a teenager I had to see a foot doctor that was right at the top of the stairs.  And when I was in my early twenties one of my very best dates was at the restaurant you see in the background, only then it was a small European restaurant.  Now there is a grocery store to the right and so we pass the fountain often.  On this night it was raining and my little one marveled at the raindrops she could see falling in it.  We always find ourselves pausing to appreciate something about it.  In the summer the grackles like to bathe in it, much to our delight.  Times have changed but this fountain has remained.  In Spain I loved seeing these types of fountains, only much more grand, in the town squares.  The great American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “That which the fountain sends forth returns again to the fountain.”  I wonder what changes this fountain will see as my little one grows.  And I wonder what memories it will carry for her; perhaps buying her school uniforms, picking out Valentines, or eating at our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant.  I just know I look forward to all the times we continue to return to the fountain.