Guess what?

Heidi is back! She showed up a couple of hours ago at our back door, looking disheveled and missing her collar, but overall, no worse for the wear. We are so thankful for her safe return!

Drake was outside playing with a little neighbor friend in the "woods" behind our house (a few trees in a weedy patch, but that's "woods" to five-year-old boys who have grown up in base housing). I also had Levi outside playing in our backyard, and he started pitching a major fit - screaming and flinging himself over backwards. It was SO hot, and I took him inside to let him cool down a bit, and within less than a minute, I heard meows coming from the sliding glass door. Heidi was meowing on the back porch, where we had been only a minute before! I'm seriously thinking she may have recognized Levi's screaming or something - she's certainly heard it enough.

When I opened the door, she almost ran from me. I called out to her, and she came back hesitantly and let me pick her up and take her inside. I checked her over well, and she looks like she's fine; besides her wild appearance and missing collar, the only thing I noticed was that the little pads on her feet were all swollen and blistered! I guess gravel, sand, prickly weeds, and burning-hot asphalt make your feet sore when you're only used to walking on carpet and tile floors! And she was surprisingly not hungry. After nervously walking around and reacquainting herself with the house, she has now settled down, and only wants to be held and cuddled. So we are thankful and feeling so blessed to have her back.

Funny how we tend to take things for granted. When we first moved down here from North Dakota, almost four years ago now, we left a large 3-bedroom house with a big basement and huge kitchen. We realized we were only eligible for much smaller 2-bedrooms at our new base - there are no basements here, and small kitchens. I was feeling irritated. Then it turned out that we couldn't get into base housing at all because the waiting list was so long, and we ended up living in a pseudo-scary neighborhood off base in a tiny, poorly insulated, dirty apartment that was literally falling apart for about 9 months, while we waited for base housing. Once we got into base housing, I was thrilled with our new 2-bedroom home! What an attitude adjustment! Living in our little apartment, God taught me contentment with my circumstances. Then He gave me even more to be thankful for when we were able to move. (And actually, there are things I miss about living in a small home. It was much easier to keep it tidy, for one...)

When Heidi disappeared, I became more thankful for my boys and their health and safety - something I admittedly don't think about all that often. The first night she was missing, I was so upset and sad, and I slipped quietly into the boys' room just after midnight to check on them before I went to bed. Just hearing their soft little snores made me feel like I really and truly had so much to be thankful for. I forget sometimes, that life itself is fragile and precious. Now I feel even more blessed by the return of our little cat, and I will gladly take this experience and carry it with me as a lesson in thankfulness and appreciation. Even without her, we are so blessed...but I have such a soft spot for my little icing-on-the-cake!