Luna's Big Adventure

a brief account of the first half-hour of my morning:

wake up. notice luna is not in her normal sleeping chair in the living room. or on the couch, or on the other chair. she's not in the kitchen watching birds out the window, either. maybe she is in the other bedroom? no. in the second bathroom in the litter box? no. maybe she was in our bedroom and i just didn't notice? no. in the bathroom with tim? no. maybe i just didn't see her. nope, not under the couch or the chairs, definitely not in any obvious place. maybe she got stuck in a closet? no. hmm, where could she be? in a cabinet (she is not a known cabinet-hider, but her brother linus is)? no. certainly she'll come if i put food in her bowl. NO! oh no!

liz: tim, i can't find luna.
tim (in shower, covered in soap): what do you mean?
liz: i can't find her, she's not here. i put food in her bowl and she didn't come.
tim: hang on, i'm almost done.
[tim quickly showers and gets dressed]

i'm trying to think where she could be, then i remember that before i went to bed i opened the door for 5-10 seconds in bring in a plant so it wouldn't freeze. crap, what if luna escaped? she's not on the porch, but the welcome mat is askew, that's not good. she's not on the stairs or around the downstairs neighbors. crap, i have to go inside so tim doesn't think i'm lost too.

tim: you didn't find her?
liz: no.
tim: you looked in the cabinets? [looks just to make sure]
liz: i looked everywhere! i think she's outside. [oh but i didn't look in the dishwasher. no. fridge? no]
tim: you opened the door last night.
liz: yeah, to bring in the plant.
tim: lets look outside.

tim is dressed and clean. i'm in my pajamas and bathrobe, not clean. oh well. tim looks by the street (please don't find her dead in the street) and i look in our complex. calling her name, looking under cars. thinking what picture can i use on her "lost cat" poster and will i really recognize her if i have to look at the animal shelter? then i hear a meow, maybe. luna. meow. definitely a meow! luna. meow. sounds like she is in a tree! ooo, there she is! on some stranger's upstairs porch!

she didn't move til i came up the stairs, just meowed, but i knew it was her. she's so cute and soft, how could it not be her? and she let me pick her up and carry her home. when we were going up our stairs, she got so excited i had to put her down and she ran the rest of the way to the door, then stood up and put her paws by the doorknob like she wanted to open it herself.

then she got scolded for running away. too much stress for the morning.

Dr. Lehman, I presume