I Learned a lot Last Year.....

If you’re a follower on my social media, you may have noticed a whole lot of pet pictures recently. My heart has, and always will be, with animals. I finally took studio portraits of my own pets even! But besides taking pictures 𝐎𝐅 my cat, I took pictures 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 my cat... there is a story behind this…stick with me through this one. It will be worth it by the end.

Last fall, Target announced a 3am release of a new pet line, which included this adorable white fuzzy sweater set with a whole lot of hype behind it. I 𝐇𝐀𝐃 to have it for Onyx! Yes, I got up at 3am. Yes, I actually got it (and it did indeed sell out in minutes). And then it arrived... and did not even come close to fitting him. It was HUGE and I was beyond disappointed and close to tears. I had already ordered myself a matching sweater (or three, but that's another story). I had this vision of doing a tacky matching photoshoot together because well, that's just very us. If they all ran big, someone had to be making returns so I could get the smaller size, right?!?!? So, back to stalking Target...again. I visited a few stores, coming up empty handed. But three days later, I was able to snag it online again (literally one in stock, an obvious return). I crossed my fingers until it actually shipped and the smaller sweater arrived, and while still a tiny bit big, it would work. THANK GOODNESS!!!!

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞. The very night after the new sweater arrived. And it was still sitting out in the opened box.

Guys, when I say Onyx barely made it through the fire, I mean he BARELY made it out. I had tried to break the window to get to him, but had no luck coaxing him out and I knew better than to go in when I saw the amount of smoke and felt the heat. When the firefighters came out holding him, he was as limp as a rag and barely breathing. I actually gave him mouth to mouth until they got him hooked up to oxygen. I don't have kids, so when I tell you this cat is every bit as spoiled and loved as a child, I truly mean it. The fact he pulled through and was 100% ok is a miracle. Prayers were answered that night.

When we got permission to go back in the house, everything was ruined. Black soot covered almost everything we owned. But somehow that WHITE sweater that was sitting out had a bag fall on top of it that mostly protected it from damage. I expected it to be fully black and totally a lost cause, if not from smoke, at least from water damage and mold by the time we could move things, but there it was, sitting out in all its glory (ok maybe a little dingy in spots, but still a beautiful sight to behold). If you know anything about soot, you know there isn't any way to save something like that if it gets on it. I know it's just a material thing, and the fire sure taught a thing or two about what matters most, but it was a bright spot at a very low time. That darn sweater surviving meant a lot to me (even if it smelled terrible of smoke).

So fast forward a few months... we got the house back together, so it was time to do this photoshoot, finally. Dingy sweater and all, because hey, we're survivors, so who the heck cares about a little soot!!! In fact, I set up the little "studio" right where the fire happened and that is where we took our pictures together.

My previous post said, "don't wait nine years" - and this is why. The fact of the matter is, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. I could have very easily lost Onyx that night. I had nine years to take photos with him, and I never have, other than a few casual cell phone shots that aren't great. So, I'm telling you, 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧. Don't make excuses. One day it will be too late, and you never know when that day is. Memories fade, photos don't.