This past weekend, one of Khloe's cats took a little vacation. Little Jack (who is not little) has been known to take time away from our house, but he had always done it in the summer or spring. So when the second day passed and there was no sign of him, I began to worry. What was he doing? Where was he staying? Three days passed and no Little Jack.
When we returned home from ball games on Tuesday night, we heard a meow. It was a loud, scared meow. Treading through the snow (in my dress pants and Chucks) and into the tree line, I discovered Little Jack in a tree. Not just any tree, but a very large, very old, and very straight cottonwood tree. It was clear he was scared, cold, and hungry. And it was clear he couldn't get down. He needed to be rescued.
After some tears from Khloe (and a few bats of her eyes), John headed to town and got a double ladder from the fire department and did what firemen do with cats in a tree. He rescued him. (If you have time, have Khloe tell you the story of this. It is pretty good...I was a little scared for both the cat and the husband, but they both made it down safely.)
Khloe stated that she wished Little Jack could talk in order to tell us why he was in the tree. How long had he called for help? Why did he think climbing a tree was a good idea? She stated it was a night full of emotions: sadness because we couldn't find Little Jack, then happiness, and then fear because he couldn't get down.
I don't tell this story in order to talk about the cats...I leave that to Khloe. I tell this story for two reasons.
1. There are going to be times that we need to be rescued. Sometimes we get ourselves in sticky situations and we need someone to help pull us out. People may rescue us through their words, through their actions, or both. It can be a big gesture (like climbing a ladder at 10:45 at night, in the dark, when it is 4 degrees outside) or little (like giving you a breather for five minutes). It is important to recognize when you or others need to be rescued and step up to help out or to find help.
2. There are days when we are going to want more information. Why is this kid doing this? Why didn't they do their homework? What is going on at home? We may never find those answers. But if we ask questions, observe and communicate, we can get a better feel on what is happening. No matter what the age of our students we need to communicate with parents. DoJo, email, paper notes, Classroom...not every child is telling their parents what is happening and what they are doing. These gestures help us to build relationships of trust. By doing so, when someone is in the full range of emotions or are in a situation where they need to be rescued, they will turn to us to help them. We in turn will know when they need help.
When the great cat rescue was done and we were in the house, Khloe told Little Jack that he needed to make better choices because John wasn't going to keep climbing ladders to rescue him. The same is true in life. If you keep making a mistake, it is hard for people to run to rescue you. You have to be willing to recognize that you needed help and then take the steps to change and adapt so you don't need to be rescued from that situation again. Khloe told Little Jack for him it meant no more vacations...no more chasing animals...no more tree climbing!
Here's to hoping that cat is a good listener.
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