spacer
Thrive logo
spacer
spacer Log in | spacer
corner spacer corner
spacer
spacer
corner browseissues corner
spacer
spacer
spacer
corner spacer corner
spacer
corner popularlinks corner
spacer
spacer
spacer
corner spacer corner
corner spacer corner
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
corner spacer corner
spacer
spacer
corner spacer corner
spacer

Snowflakes
By Joanne Lovering

Snowflakes came into our lives unexpectedly. The day before Snowflake’s birth, my little boy said to me, “Bobalink is going to have some babies.” Bobalink is our female tabby cat. At the time, she was actually our 7-month old tabby kitten. We had not spayed her yet because my friend Jane had only recently rescued her from a neighbour’s garage. I had not noticed her swelling tummy. I contradicted my 10-year-old son at first, but on closer look my “no” turned to “maybe.” The next day my “maybe” turned to a “well lookie there.” Three precious lumps appeared in her box. Snowflakes was one of them, so named because the white markings on the back of his mostly black body looked like snowflakes. Kind of.

Unfortunately, Snowflakes’ mother did not favour him. He had a few good weeks of nursing alongside his sister (the third kitten did not live long) and then suddenly, his mother was done with him. One day she grabbed him by the top of his head and tossed him out of the box. His sister was still welcome to snuggle and feed, but not Snowflakes.  So, Snowflakes grew up fast. And strong. And independent.

He began patrolling our property indoors and outdoors as though he was a security guard walking his route. As he grew, he seemed like our protector. He would stroll into the house, do his rounds by visiting each room, request a pat on the head from each of his humans, and then having assessed that all was well at his home, he would leave again.

As I watched Snowflakes grow and thrive, I began to envy him. His attitude was one of non-stop intensity. Whatever he did, he did full out and focused. When he ran, he ran fast and majestically. When he was kicked out of the nest he moved on quickly. When he socialized with us he purred intently and nuzzled aggressively. When he ate, he ate heartily. And most beautiful of all to me, was after he ate, he would crash on our bed and sleep. I have never seen a creature so committed to sleeping. Nothing disturbed him. His body would stretch out and relax and he emanated satisfaction. When I put my hand on his back, I felt peaceful myself.  I averted many a sleepless night by moving close to Snowflakes and clearing my mind as I listened to his calm purring.

Then one day, I had an almost magical experience with Snowflakes. By chance, I was invited to participate in his joyous play. It was a sunny summer morning and I was jogging through a very large cemetery several streets away from our home. It is full of bushes, has a little creek and backs onto a ravine. As I trundled down a path alongside the creek, I detected something moving in the scrub ahead. I saw a white flash and thought I had discovered a rabbit’s nest, as it was baby bunny season. I tiptoed toward the bushes, pulled back some branches, and came face to face instead with a large golden-eyed cat. We locked stares briefly, and then the cat jumped out of the bushes and lunged toward me. “Snowy, what the heck!” I screamed. It was my own beloved cat.

He ran behind a gravestone and I chased him there. He darted behind another one. I chased him there. The two of us ran about like silly kids for a few minutes and then he started panting really hard. He scared me a bit because I had never seen a cat breathe so fast before. I walked over to a little tap that the cemetery provided so that patrons could water the plants around their loved ones’ burial sites, and filled my hands with water. I put them under his face and he drank furiously. I got tired of cupping my hands and found a little bowl and filled that with water and put it in front of him. He stared at me as if to say, “Not what I am looking for, lady.” I put more water in my hands, and he drank directly from me again. It was as though he wanted a little love with his water.

When his thirst was slaked he took off on me. I ran around looking for him for about five minutes, but he was gone. I knew he was super savvy and would find his way home, so I began to jog out of the cemetery. As I passed a particularly high tombstone, something suddenly came flying toward the side of my head. I turned to see Snowflakes sailing through the air like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon show. Once again, I screamed. This time he had a snake in his mouth. He was seriously trying to freak me out. I dodged his flight path, but after he landed he came running at me. I changed the game and charged at him, yelling for him to drop the dang snake. He did, and we chased each other around and around again for a while. When it was time to break up this strange inter-species game of tag, Snowflakes headed toward the bushes I had found him in. He stopped before entering and looked back at me. I went over and gave him a love tap on the head and told him I would see him back at home.

But he meowed at me, plaintively. He put his head under the bushes and waited. It was as if he wanted me to follow. He took a few steps into the forest, and then turned and waited again for me to come along. He took a few more strides forward, and then one more time looked back at me. As much as we had enjoyed an hour of special communication, he did not seem to understand when I told him that it would just be too difficult for me to crawl under the prickle bushes on my belly, jump across the creek, climb the six-foot wooden fence, run through the neighbour’s backyard, cross the road, run through a few more neighbour’s yards, jump a few more fences and then run up the driveway to our home. He looked so disappointed that I was not leaving with him. As I headed back to the paved pathway, he turned around and decided he would come with me instead.

But when my path intersected a road with some whizzing traffic, Snowflakes stopped. It was clear that as much as I could not take his tangled path toward our house, he was not comfortable following my paved pathway. We parted ways and later that day he arrived home, as usual. He made his rounds, ate dinner, and then slept the coveted sleep of the incredibly satisfied on our bed.

Snowflakes is my hero. He lives life the way it should be lived. He is fully engrossed in whatever he is doing. He enjoys each and every task he takes on. He looks out for the people he loves. He remembers where he came from. He does not focus on his losses. He conquers new territory daily. He shows no fear. He plays until he is thirsty and then drinks until he can drink no more. He eats until he is full, and then he sleeps hard and peacefully.

As I enviously watch him enjoy his life, I have decided I should stop being so jealous and just learn from this incredible animal.

It sounds strange to say that my cat is my role model. But Snowflakes lives life precisely the way it should be lived — and I have never seen a human being do it so well.

Snowflakes is now 10 years old. He is strong and healthy and has never been sick. I hope that we will have many more years together. Our family has adopted a few other needy kittens since his arrival, so he is now a big brother several times over.

All the cats — except Bobalink — adore him and when he comes home from his daily adventures they gather around him, sniffing him and affectionately banging their bodies against his.

His confidence and joie de vivre is that attractive.

I am doing my best to copy him.

Joanne Lovering Bio:

Joanne Lovering is a writer living in Toronto with her cats, rats and ferrets. She also has several human companions. She loves them all. You can contact her at j.lovering@rogers.com

Back to Stories

spacer
COMMENTS (3) | animal companion, animal wisdom, humour
spacer

Comments

3 Responses to “Snowflakes”

  1. SB
    December 15th, 2011 @ 1:55 pm

    Your game of tag with Snowflakes made me smile and made me miss my two cats 🙂 You are right, much to learn from animals; loving unconditionally and enjoying the present without thinking too much of tomorrow! Thank you for the reminder.

  2. Diane Brass Winnipeg Manitoba
    December 26th, 2011 @ 7:19 pm

    Joanne, I loved your story. I have always been a “dog person” – your beautiful story about Snowflakes showed me that cats too have beautiful, sensitive souls.

  3. Morrigan Balek
    April 24th, 2012 @ 1:47 pm

    I was just browsing through the web when I spotted this story; I’m so glag I stopped to read it.
    Our furry friends have so much they want to share with us, if we would only ginve them a few minutes of our time.
    Thank you.

    Best, Morrigan

Leave a Reply





spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
corner spacer corner
spacer
corner spacer corner
spacer
newsletter
spacer
spacer
spacer
corner spacer corner
spacer
corner comments corner
spacer

    Mike

    My wife is an alcoholic she drinks liquor from the time she gets up until the the liquor store closes.im at the crossroa...
    April

    I have been married to my alcoholic husband for 11 years but we have been together for the last 19 years. We met at a ve...
    Tina

    I have been married for 22 years. Both my husband and I were casual drinkers. As the years went by we began drinking m...
    Amy Weisenburger

    What a beautiful message!! My fur-babies, soulmates gave my life tremendous purpose and meaning. Their paw print...
    Frank Sterle Jr.

    Whenever I observe stress in the facial expression of my mother, a typical senior, I also observe how that stress drains...
    Kim

    This was an excellent blog. I have been with my alcoholic husband for 15 years. I felt like I was losing my mind with th...
    Alice

    Helping someone with this issue is hard. And even more if you love him. I know that very well. We struggled with it for ...
    Union Alarm

    The best way is to leave such a person as it is not worth making your life miserable with such a person. I know this as ...
    Nancy Flora

    I think what you mean is a non-drinking member of an alcoholic family. Alcoholism is a family disease. Just as your husb...
    Amanda

    The family is waking up Sunday AM and my alcoholic husband again makes another nasty comment to me. The things he has sa...
    Angel

    I learned how to detach from my drunk husband! Than my mother passed away. All gloves were off after that. My son gradua...
    Lorraine

    Married thirty seven and a half years to an alcoholic. But he is a good person. And he does good deeds for everyone neig...
    jw

    I have been with my husband twenty one years. We have three children together, ages 5,7, and 9. He is a functioning alco...
    Richard Berman

    A emotional story well written with bright eye ups and sad eye downs. A story I could relate to. My grandparents would...
    Gina

    Love this. Just what I needed to read. Thank you for your courage to share this....
    Tired

    I am struggling with detaching, but still trying. I have been with my other half off and on for 5 years. The offs were...
    Debra Grossman

    Thank you for sharing this beautiful story. It nourishes my soul to learn of such special friendships. We humans must ...
    Jack russell

    Really enjoyed reading the website. I have also have a website about this great dog....


    Thank God for your blog. After 37 years of being married to an alcoholic,I've finally reached my breaking point. Emotion...


    Thanx 4 da truth...
    Sandra

    I am from USA, i am 36 years old, i want to gladly give My testimony of how a spell caster dr.mac@yahoo. com brought bac...
    g

    Thank you for your words. As I navigate through marriage with children (11, 5, 3) and I am a stay at home mom, the idea ...
    Catherine Ellen Pettway

    My husband and I married in 1988. He occasionally drank beer but not everyday. He came from a long history of alcoholics...
    Nic

    Thank you Mike for your honesty and vulnerability. It helps to feel a connection with someone who understands the enduri...
    Robert Goldsmith

    Thank you for sharing that very intimate experience and your story. I'm married to an alcoholic and am having severe pro...
    MANDI

    Is this group still going? I love my husband and I knew what I was getting into when I married him. I knew he like to dr...
    Kelly

    Dear Keith, I hope you are at peace now. You are missed by many....
    Delilah Campos

    Dear LaVora, Thank you so much for sharing this intimate experience. I am deeply touched and encouraged by your experie...
    Mary Ellen Bennett

    Thank you so much. I am married to an alcoholic and I have watched him go through rehabilitation and relapse many times....
    Tracy

    Thank you for sharing your story with me Ivor. I'm so glad you had a loving supportive Aunt to guide you out from beneat...
    Daniel Fontana

    I know those kids,especially Snezana.Please send me their contact information....
    Neyhaaa

    I can't thank you enough for sharing this. Yet, thank you....
    Amy

    My daughter is five and her dad is an alcoholic. I know we need to leave. We both own our house and I can't afford a law...
    CPC

    I think this is among the such a lot important info for me. And i'm happy studying your article. However want to statem...
    online festival

    Every year, people in India find different ways to celebrate the same festival, and perhaps this adds new dimension to...
    Karol

    Listening to all the mother's on here is overwhelming for me. I think about what all of you are going through and I can ...
    Vicki Osheka

    This is my second marriage and I came from a non drinking family. Didn't realize what I was getting into when I married...
    Elle

    Wel written article. My husband is walking around totally beligerant. Where he ends up making messes, he has snowballed ...
    Maren

    Thank you for this! 3rd day on Cipralex and a glimmer of hope....


    I 'gave in' recently. I am more hopeful than ever that things will improve for me after reading this article. It is insp...
    LindaJane Riley

    I apologize to everyone who has commented. I didn't know this story was still active. I would like to invite all of ...
    Rahulbh28

    Dear Members, Please help me. . . I'm sharing my painful moments which my brother and my family members are undergoing ...
    rene

    Yes i too lived the nightmare for 45 yrs..when in my marriage the last. 10 yrs my alcoholic lived in the same house and ...
    Grace

    I typed in Google search, overcoming childhood loneliness because I am paying attention to some habits that I have been ...
    Casadina

    I am so thankful that I found this website. I am like others on here and my alcoholic is passed out snoring again. This ...
    Grateful

    I cannot express how much I appreciate your story. I have been with my alcoholic for 11 years and I do not even know my...
    Vic

    I stumbled upon this beautifully written article because I just "gave in" today. I just picked up my perscription of cir...
    Carol

    I have recently begun to admit that my husband is an alcoholic. My heart is broken... I am pissed... I have so many emot...
    TJ

    Thank you for this article. You are the first person who seems to understand why I am still married to an alcoholic. I...
    sariah

    I wept as I read your story. I am currently learning to detach as well after 20 years of marriage to an alcoholic. Leavi...
    LaVora

    Good luck, N. My experience may not be yours. However, I deeply believe that happiness is our birthright. You deserve th...
    nk

    Lavora, I am exactly here in my marriage - trying to turn it around. Rgds, N...
    Suzanne

    Hi Martin and Cathy. Watched your documentary. You are a wonderful family. Everyone has their struggles, no one is exemp...
    admin

    Thank you for letting us know. The link is now set to the their new WEB page. We have our dog from them....
    Linda Jane Riley

    About a year ago I was forced to take a step back from all things related to alcoholism. My husband, Riley, was not drin...
    SHerry

    Your link to the rescue adoption site is for sale with no other info on the dogs....
    Karen Rago

    I think that Jesse is the most adorable jack Russell terrier dog I love watching his videos to...
    Marleen

    Thank you for sharing your story! That's real inspirating!...
    Julie

    Its 4:50am here. I can hear him snoring in the nursery. I brought the baby to bed with me.. He only snores when he drink...
    ld

    I thought I was suffering alone. The advice and comments make me feel better and gives me the strength to go on. Keep th...
    Sam

    Hi Mike, Very poignant, "There are no grown-ups. We are all children in adult garments" is right on the mark. Sufferi...
    TJ

    Thank You!!! Like "judy" commented above my mind was racing and I felt out of control... My life seemed to be falling a...
    Karunakaran

    It's very nice....
    judy

    Thanks for ur writings... it really help my mind to calm down.... where can i go to talk with alot of nonalcoholics??? N...
    Tanya Sousa

    We certainly do have to change the way we respond, don't we Paul? I'm encouraged though. I do see it happening -- althou...
    Paul Trainer

    Thank you, Tanya, this is all so true. As someone who adores starlings too, I know that it is only when you take the tim...
    Cathy

    In reading I see how difficult it is to be married to an alcoholic husband for 30 years and have now discovered that if ...
    carrir

    You took the words right out of my mouth. Xoxo...
    ceri

    What an amazing story of love between step son and step father...
    Caney Texas

    Hello! I've been reading your site for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out fr...
    julie

    what a wonderful article, she described me to a tee , it was nice to put words to the feelings , I am new to cipralex bu...
    michele

    I am hurting so badly right now, it is taking all the strength and coping ability I have just to get through the day! O...
    denise morini

    PLEASE understand that I do not feel redeemed......still...........getting Lexi DID NOT make up for what I did to Jack, ...
    Carleen Quesenberry

    Denise- It is perplexing that you would write a "feel good" story after you abandoned a dog due to your failure to trai...
    Jon

    While I love the article, I caution those reading the post by "finally AM, me." I was in a relationship for 12 years to...
    Wendy Noer

    I felt like I was there, good story Melodee, keep writing. Let me know when you finish another one....


    thank you...
    Sandi

    This is great, Mel! Congratulations! I hope to see more of your writings - especially the novel you're working on......
    Katie

    My name is Katie. I'm 40. I have only visited your website, haven't purchased your book yet. I've been diagnosed bi-...
    Kaylee

    Your story helped convince me to start retaking my cipralex! Thank you!...
    gautam khanal

    Love actually does not have any boundary of Cast,Religion,Profile,Species,Class etc........
    Nayanna Chakrbarty

    Dear Kalpana, Thank you for your kind wishes. I do agree with you, when you think you are all alone that's when He ma...
    Kalpana

    Dear Nayanna, It' such a pleasure reading your experiences with Ganapthi (as I call him). He is so close to my heart ...
    Haley

    Made my day we have no reason to complain bout anything...
    Melissa

    Sorry typo , thank you again ......
    Melissa

    Thank you , LindaJane; I will consider joining. Thank you against for your response .. Be well Melissa...
    Linda J Riley

    UPDATE -- Since I wrote this story, I have created several support groups: Two on Facebook and one on an independent sit...
    Melissa

    For 20 years that had been my life! This last time was so bad , he attacked me then choked his 19 year old twin daughter...
    Steve Sumii

    Joe, What a beautiful story. I visualized the whole story. The ending where you walk with your dad was especially moving...
    JW

    The story now the subject of a documentary aired on Knowledge Network. Video can be seen online at: http://knowled...
    http://tinyurl.com/kovalane39421

    I really would like to book mark this blog, “Turning Trash Into Beauty – Kat Nicotera’s Unique Art Therapy | Thri...
    joybells

    wow. i am going through the same journey! thanks for helping me & assisting me with that journey!...
    Noelle Sterne

    Fangfang-- You have been blessed with a husband and parents who understand that nothing is wasted. And you have learn...
    Fangfang

    Wow ... what a strong and passionate article!! Really?? Nothing is wasted?? I am feeling like I have wasted my life for...
    Pushpa Rawat

    sooo lovely and feel of very true friendship forever...
    Tanya Sousa

    Hi Diane! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I was so blessed to have her in my life AND to have the parents I had. Also, gr...
    Joyce

    Billie, I found your story very interesting and well-written. Some people would have been judgemental about the conditio...
    Diane

    Shiri, your article is very interesting and brought tears to my eyes. I have been a dog parent/companion to many wonder...
    Diane Schachter

    Tanya, I so enjoyed reading the story of your dog sister. I love how you describe your adventures and relationship with...
    Acamea

    Thank you James. :-)...
spacer
corner spacer corner
spacer
Copyright 2010 thriveinlife.ca. All rights reserved. | Privacy Statement
spacer
spacer