cuddling

The Art of Cuddling – Day 1066

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
How it starts – Photo: L. Weikel

The Art of Cuddling

I thought I had it down. After 41 years of marriage and three sons, I thought I was a master cuddler. A super snuggler. But watching these puppies contort themselves into positions of maximum warmth and comfort is a master class in the art of cuddling.

I’ve had at least one cat in my life all my life. Even before Katen came to me as my  kitten, when I was six, my family had a gray cat named Jack and a calico named Money. I’m pulling that name out of the air. I think that was her name. The memory of the calico feels so long and far away, it almost feels like another lifetime. I’m pretty sure I was pre-verbal when she was around.

Believe it or not, Karl and I even got a kitten on our honeymoon. We adopted him at the Brewster ASPCA, in Brewster, MA, on Cape Cod. Yeah. We were bound and determined, if not destined, to live amongst love.

Wow, come to think of it, we even adopted an orange kitten out of wedlock – while we were still in college at Penn State. He was such a sweet, long drink of water cat. Stretched out (which he loved to do), he was a cat and a half. I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but we named him Sage. Nothing like our youngest son having the triple luck of being named after a wise one, a healing herb, and a beloved kitty.

Funnily enough, not unlike Tigger (my boy whom I took in when Sage and Sarah couldn’t keep him at their university), my mother took in Sage (the orange beast) when we realized he was playing with PSU housing staff under the door of my dorm room. Oops! Ha ha. She loved that cat so much…

Rootching around to get comfy – Photo: L. Weikel

Back on Point

My point is that I’ve always had my feline familiars schooling me in the art of the cuddle. Then Sheila came along – and taught me that snuggling with a puppy is distinctly different than with a cat. But Spartacus, being in our home from Day One of his life, took the art of cuddling to a whole new level. He had an unerring knack of molding himself so that he fit perfectly into the small of my back. Or when Karl insisted on ‘being there,’ Spart was always willing to ‘come around to the other side’ to be held by me. Three spoons in the drawer, so to speak.

But watching these two puppies from the same litter snuggle is beyond the pale. It’s a level of merging bodies and maximizing skin-time that surpasses anything I ever saw Sheila and Spartacus engage in. Sheila loved Spart every minute of his life. But she was his mother. They were never equals. They cuddled – but never really intertwined  the way these two do. It’s hard to explain.

A Cuddle Progression

So here it is. The first set of progressive photos, showing you how these two moved from a simple side-by-side snooze to – well – I don’t know what you want to call it. I think it speaks for itself, although it is almost like looking at one of those optical illusions that slowly make sense as your brain puts it into some semblance of order. (All of which reinforces my suspicion that I have a lot left to learn!)

That’s the ticket – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-45)

Spooning – Day 847

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Cletus & Tigger Spooning – Photo: L. Weikel

Spooning

Spooning, cuddling, call it what you will. I venture a guess there are only a few people out there who don’t find immense comfort in the ritual of holding or being held. Or, as in our case, switching off in the middle of the night by mumbling a barely recognizable, “Hold or be held?” and then adjusting ourselves according to the wishes of the one being asked.

At least we take turns giving each other priority preference.

But the pleasures of spooning do not end with homo sapiens in our house. No sir. As can be seen from my photo, above, even two of our three cats were recently caught spooning with each other.

Cletus and Tigger

A few weeks ago I managed to take this photo of Cletus and Spartacus sleeping sort of adjacent to each other (more sharing a pillow than cuddling – with Tigger  hanging out on the periphery). Precious, of course, was nowhere to be seen. She tends to sleep by her self, often choosing to perch on the back of a couch and snoring so loudly you’d swear it was another human.

Cletus, Spartacus, Tigger – Photo: L. Weikel

While the animals definitely have affection for each other that genuinely seems to be more than mere tolerance, it is nevertheless rare to have two male cats (albeit neutered) who are completely unrelated to each other actually cuddle up.

But then you give the whole scenario some perspective and you realize just how potentially stereotype-shattering this whole ‘spooning’ exercise really is in our household.

Perspective

Ah yes, there it is again: perspective. It really is fascinating just how much of a role our perspective plays on everything we perceive. Our perspective – or the overall context in which we perceive creatures or anything, shapes and colors our entire experience.

It was with this truth in mind that I pulled back from my closeup of Cletus and Tigger spooning in order to give a wider view of the potential sleeping arrangements available to our pets.

Many rooms at the Inn – Photo: L. Weikel

Clearly, there was a deliberate choice to share a deluxe pillow together, as there were a plethora of beds available for them to sleep independently.

I’m left to wonder, in all honestly, just how much comfort and reassurance our cats require in these strange times. How similar are they to us when it comes right down to it?

No matter how you look at it, it’s pretty adorable.

(T-264)

First Taste – Day 735

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Precious – Snoring – Photo: L. Weikel

First Taste

Wild winds and driving rain galloped through our area this evening, heralding a cold front that will give us our first taste of the incoming late fall/early winter season. No, not snow – at least so far as I can tell from The Weather Channel. But by Wednesday we’re only supposed to reach a high of 41 – with a low of 24 degrees! Brr!

When the temperatures drop precipitously, I find myself wanting to curl up in a blanket with a good book and my beloved beasts cuddled up beside me. I’m also a little unsettled by the sleepiness that overtakes me when the wind howls and the glider gets blown off the porch.

It’s almost as if my processors just need to shut down for a bit. Or maybe it’s that I need to be unplugged and allowed to re-set.

I’m Not Alone

I was sitting on the couch earlier and heard a god-awful snoring. Mind you, I miss Sheila incredibly much – and she was the worst of the worst. Her snoring would definitely have warranted, had she been human, some sort of intervention, perhaps a C-Pap machine. But alas, it’s been almost two full months since she’s been gone and it wasn’t until I heard the massive snoring behind my head that I realized just how quiet our house has become in the cacophonous sleeping department.

No, it was Precious. She was deeply asleep and clearly snuggled in for the night.

I made a short video clip of her sonorous slumber and also snagged a couple shots of her blissful face in repose.

She had it right. Sleep. Deep sleep.

Plant Those Seeds?

I hope you gave yourselves the gift of at least devoting a few minutes over this weekend to reflecting on the transformation and creations you want to be a part of as we move forward. There’s a lot going on.

I planted some seeds today; tried something new. Made a commitment and followed through with it – created a container I’ve been wanting to offer for a few months.

As I take my first tentative steps forward, I’ll be writing about it here. Soon. And offering it on a wider scale as I establish my foundations. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to the courageous ‘early-adopters.’

In the meantime, at the moment at least, I’m going to follow Precious’s cue, catch some zzzs, pull the plug and re-set.

(T-376)