Awhile back, I wrote about trying to be aware of, and appreciating the many little gifts that are presented to us each and every day. And even though I make an effort to see and enjoy it all every day, on some days, there are things that happen that even amaze me.

About a month ago, changes started to take place in the Cheney household. And it took a few weeks for me to have my “Ah-HA!” moment, and recognize what had happened.

You see, several members of my Clan O’ Kitties had suddenly become affectionate. And when I say affectionate, I don’t just mean a little bit. I mean, “Who the heck is that kitty, what aliens abducted her, and what kind of replacement did they leave me?” affectionate.

While Beser is my youngest, she has also been my most ornery. As in hiss, muckle onto ankles, take swings at me with claws extended, and just skittish as all heck. You know, a n-i-c-e kitty. *chuckle* Beser was the kind of kitty that bolted for parts unknown whenever anyone stopped by the house. And allow herself to be patted by other people? Wasn’t going to happen. Ever. Or at least that’s the way it was.

Now, I have a Beser who actually comes looking for attention. My friend and workout partner has been trying for several years to befriend her, and it wasn’t going well. The other day, she actually came to HIM, looking to be patted. As surprising as that was, it got even more weird.

The other Friday, my Better Half came over for dinner. While sitting on the couch together, all of a sudden she started chuckling, and I couldn’t see why. She whispered to me that Beser was using her foot as a rubbing post. Now, I’m starting to feel like I’m in a Twilight Zone episode. : ) But it got better, well more weird, well, whatever. She propped her feet up on the coffee table, and next thing we knew, Beser was stretched out on her legs, and promptly went to sleep. Sleep! Now I’m waiting to hear my alarm clock go off, wake up, and realize that this was all just a dream. Nope, no such luck. This was real life, and I was colored confused.

Beser has also taken to purring far more often, and sleeping with me at night. Not at the end of the bed anymore, but curled up in the crook of my arm, with her head draped across my bicep or shoulder. One of those too cute moments that you can’t get to a camera. You know, the too cute moments that occur, where you really want/need to change position to get comfortable, but don’t want to disturb them.? Yes, they have me trained so well, I’ll suffer the discomfort for as long as I can.

Shorty, my Maine Coon cat hasn’t been quite so shocking, but even she has become far more affectionate. More meowing, more headbutts when looking for attention, and spending more time laying next to me on the arm of the couch. Nixie, well she’s always Miss Affectionate. No shocking changes from her.

For one to change, o.k., that could be considered coincidence, or the kitty entering a new phase in life. But to have Miss Ornery, uhh...I mean Beser, and Shorty become far more affectionate at the same time, something was definitely happening. And I finally realized that it was my sanding down, and painting my hallway that had made the changes. I was a little slow in considering the feng-shui changes that had occurred when I had worked on the house over vacation.

Now, if I could only feng-shui the house in such a way that they could start to feed themselves, and clean their own litterboxes. *chuckle* A man can dream, can’t he? : )

Until next time.