Not Really Dead

I do respite care, which means I watch over and take care of, a boy with autism. Since he loves playing in water, it makes sense that he plays in the ditch in front of my house. If I have to go inside for something, I'll sometimes watch him from my window for a minute. Once I returned something to my next-door-neighbor, but stood at the door so I could check on him.

He doesn't just dabble the water with his fingers. He'll sit in the shallow water, and sometimes lay his head in it to let the cooling water flow through his hair.

Twice I've had people stop their cars to check on him, thinking he might be dead. I quickly assure them that he's having fun.

I understand how they feel, though, because I have the same reaction when I see our 17-year-old cat.

What would you do if you saw this on your front lawn?

Cat in a Water Dish

This is our old cat, Slick. As near as we can remember, he's 17 years old. He has a perfectly good cat kennel to sleep in (see background...blue towel...my boys tend to give kitty cats the best treatment they can) yet I found him sitting in his empty water dish. I called him a silly cat and couldn't figure out why he would choose the hard plastic bowl instead of the cozy blue towel until one of my boys made a good suggestion.

The water dish is heated.

Now who says you can't teach an old cat new tricks?