Please click to view Part 1 and Part 2 if you have not read the posts.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It was late winter. We had another snowfall. For a few days, snow covered the ground and the bushes outside of the apartments. I had not seen the cat for quite some days. Looking at the snow, I wondered if he was all right. At night, I prayed for the cat. I hope he stayed inside a home or somewhere warm.
One night, I dreamed of the cat.
In the dream, I was sleeping in our sons' bedroom. (When our sons lived on campuses, sometimes I slept in their bedroom. The family room and kitchen were on the lower floor, and the bedrooms were on the upper floor.) Though I lay in bed, the dream me saw what went on around me and outside of the apartment. On the lawn outside of the apartments, the next door woman who disliked the cat was talking to a man. I saw the cat on the grass outside of our apartment. He looked healthy and strong. There was light surrounding him.
The cat jumped up to the window ledge. He was then inside the bedroom even though the windows were closed. He jumped up the bed, and rested on my chest. I was filled with tremendous warmth and love. I looked at the cat. There was something peculiar about him. On one side of his body, his striped gray white hair seemed to be enfolded in a strange, transparent, light blue or light neon blue field of energy. Furthermore, the hair on the back of that side of his body stood upwards. Despite of the peculiar look, his hair was soft, shiny, and beautiful. I 'got' it from the cat that he was fine.
Next, the cat was back on the lawn. A sheet of ice now covered the grass. The woman and the man looked at the cat. They seemed to be talking about him. The cat never looked at them. Proudly, he walked away with his head held up high. His hair was now back to normal. He looked healthy and strong as he first appeared on the lawn. He had no problem walking on the ice at all.
When I woke up from the dream, I knew the cat had moved on. I did not dare to talk to my sons about the dream. They loved the cat. Hope against hope, we (including me) prayed the cat was alive.
In May, our older son came home from the university. He looked everywhere for the cat. One day while he was out looking for the cat again, the maintenance man happened to walk back to his apartment which was not far from ours. He told our son the cat had died in the late winter snowfall. He found his body under the bushes near his apartment after the snow began to melt. He said the cat died lying on one side. When he picked him up, part of his body was encased in ice. His words explained what I saw in the dream. We felt sad about the cat's passing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When I was young, I often woke up talking about my dreams. My family eventually called me 'the Queen of Dreams'. Later, I stopped sharing my dreams because I observed the adults were not interested in hearing them. My husband told me he rarely remembered his dreams. He wanted to dream about his mother who died when he was a toddler. He was disappointed he never recalled seeing her in his dreams. I knew our sons had dreams because they talked in their sleep. However, most of the time, they did not remember their dreams. On the occasions they remembered their dreams and shared with me, I found their dreams were meaningful and profound just liked mine were, except they did not give much thought to their dreams.
Amazingly, my loved ones actually remembered they had dreams about the cat. Our sons said the cat often came to play with them just as when he was alive. My husband said he had only one dream about the cat. In his dream, rain was pouring, and the cat stood outside of a door. He said the cat was dripping wet and seemed to be in a very poor physical condition.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Our sons had helped in the restaurant for years. Knowing the situation we were in, they never asked for pay or anything. During the last two year in high school, our older son worked in a fast food restaurant after school. Without saying a word, he gave me his paychecks. I asked him to open a bank account because he needed money to go to college. He knew I struggled to pay the bills, and insisted for me to use the money he earned.
Our sons went to different universities. Like most students, they worked besides going to classes. They did not have a car. They said it was alright, and other students walked from one location to another as they did. Sometimes they got on the buses.
When the school year was over in 2000, our sons came home for the summer. I was glad they soon found jobs working in a store. The store scheduled them to work different shifts. For example, one son worked from 8 am to 3 pm, while the other son worked from 10 am to 5 pm. I had no problem driving them to work in the morning, but picking them up in the afternoon was another story.
We could not afford any hired help. I was responsible for waiting on customers who dined in, taking down the call-in carryout orders, and packing them when they were ready. (My husband could not take over when I was away because he did not know much English.) A few times in a week, I also had to shop for the restaurant and run errands when the lunch hour was over. With the restaurant business, sometimes I just could not leave to pick up our sons. For instance, I could not tell customers to leave or dine in some other time because I had to pick up my son. As a result, our sons had to wait for a long time before I could pick them up. There had also been times I was stuck in traffic. I came back to the restaurant with customers waiting and the phone ringing nonstop. As stressful as it was, it was a wonder how forgiving the customers were, and many actually supported us throughout the years.
My husband was not happy about the situation. In his state, he could only think about himself and the restaurant. That was why he did not want to sell the restaurant. I was glad our sons could earn some money for the summer before they went back to college. Blessed their hearts, they never complained about their long wait in the store. However, I understood there must be some frustration about the situation. During those years, sometimes I did feel exhausted mentally and physically.
It was in divine timing the cat showed up on our porch that early July morning.
His appearance gave us a point of diversion in our focus in life at that particular time. Whenever the cat came, my sons and I looked at him with tenderness. For a moment, we forgot about the stress in life. He was the object of attention as well as the subject of affection. We loved him. When he slept peacefully after he ate, we shared in his peace too. When I saw him on the porch that July morning, I had not expected him to be such a blessing to our family. It was the same with other things in life. If we took things for granted, we might fail to recognize the blessing in life.
In 'Seth Speaks' by Jane Roberts, Seth said he had once infused a tiny portion of his energy into a dog because he wanted to experience the life as a dog. I could not help but wondered if it was the case with the gray cat. I knew the cat had touched other people's hearts, and brought laughter to many children before he moved on.
Earlier that July morning, I woke up my older son to get ready to work. He looked very tired. He actually dozed off while I was driving. Suddenly, words came out of his mouth. I was shocked. Arriving at the store, he slowly woke up and did not really know what he had said. In his sleepy or altered state, he had become a perfect channel. The words that came through answered the question I had, and most of all, caused me to examine my life. It was a life transforming experience.
I believed my guides and angels were busy at work that July morning. For their love, I give thanks.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In 2010, while we were living in another state, our older son brought home a stray kitten that was with striped gray and white hair similar to the old gray cat. (If you want to read the whole story, please click to view A gift from Mei Mei ) At first, my husband did not show much affection towards the kitten. Like the gray cat, the cute kitten went to work. He gave my husband lots of love and attention.
In the last three years, this had been my husband's routine upon waking up. He took it upon himself to clean the litter box. He refilled the bowls with cat food and fresh water. Then he sat on the carpet and signaled for the cat to come. He thoroughly brushed the cat's hair which the cat seemed to enjoy it very much.
Sometimes my husband gave the cat some food from the table. If the cat did not eat it, he still got a little bit upset. However, he was able to get over it. There were times the cat wanted to rest on his lap, but he did not allow the cat to. It might be it was too much for him. As a compromise, he let the cat sit next to him on the couch. Overall, the change was huge, and it was a blessing to all. The gray cat had certainly played a role in his change of heart.
The gray cat had moved on. However, he lives in our hearts.
With love,
Q of D
Sometimes my husband gave the cat some food from the table. If the cat did not eat it, he still got a little bit upset. However, he was able to get over it. There were times the cat wanted to rest on his lap, but he did not allow the cat to. It might be it was too much for him. As a compromise, he let the cat sit next to him on the couch. Overall, the change was huge, and it was a blessing to all. The gray cat had certainly played a role in his change of heart.
The gray cat had moved on. However, he lives in our hearts.
With love,
Q of D
No comments:
Post a Comment