Seeing as if for First Time
Shrimp, when his eyes were open but still blind. He is such a cutie!
My mind is abounding with thoughts of yoga teacher training and newborn kittens. Yes, it’s true. All in the same month, I have the joyous fortune of playing with three kittens while undertaking my certification as a Yoga Teacher. Plus, the training takes place in White Rock (beach!!!) in summertime. How could the month get any better really?
I live with my sister and her husband-to-be in a house near Aldergrove. None of us had realized that a 6-month old cat could get pregnant, until she did. Although the actual birth of the kittens was something I will never forget (how slimy and amazing!), the event that most resonated with me was when they opened their eyes for the first time.
Just after their 10th day of life, the kittens’ eyes started to creak open. I had thought they would suddenly come apart, all in one day. In actual fact, it takes a few days for the closed eye slits to gradually peel apart from the sides, until the whole lid is unobstructed. My next shock was finding out that kittens with eyes recently opened, do not actually develop sight for a few days after that!
Inside their comfortable closet-hidden laundry hamper, the kittens developed full sight a few days later. Their retinas developed, pupils responsive to light, they look up at us wide-eyed and intrigued. Literally everyday, these kittens see something they have never seen before. They approach each new vision with playfulness and curiosity.
I can only hope to take some of their playful newness into my teacher training this week. How precious to approach every new day like it’s the first time you’ve seen it, to explore every new lesson with awe, to undertake adventures that you’ve never had before, to learn and live with wonder. I can’t wait for the upcoming month. It’s going to be perfect.
All three kittens, with full sight. Looking and walking around (albeit on wobbly legs).
