January 31st, 2024

Last weekend I developed a sinus infection or something along those lines, diagnosed by Web-MD. I am still dealing with some residual symptoms so tonight I decided it would be a good idea, to treat myself to a sauna considering the busy work weekend ahead of me. Luckily for me, my boyfriend lives in a house with some friends of ours that happens to have a sauna. I went over and for the first time used it all alone (they were watching Percy Jackson). It was amazing, I sweat more than I ever have in a sauna, and stayed for what seemed to me like an impressive amount of time. I was dedicated. I thanked them, said goodnight, and headed back to the car I am currently driving, my Dad's 69' Saab. I have been enjoying the car the past few days, it makes me really appreciate the comfort and overall newness of my car (even though now it is about 30 years old). As I was about to get into my car I heard a meow, I had heard it a week or so ago also when going to my car at night. This time it sounded more dire. Last time I heard it I had chalked it up to an indoor/outdoor cat who was meowing at the door to be let back inside. This time I spent more time listening to it, I called out once but started to feel a little silly. I wasn't necessarily interested in just any old cat, I was really just hoping that it was a miracle and it was Dave. I decided it was probably fine, other people have cats and it certainly was not Dave, it had been over a month now, there had been many frosts during that time, and lot and lots of rain, there was just really no way. Right as I opened the car door there was a more insistent meow and I stopped again and listened more. I started walking over to the noise again, which is when I noticed two people coming outside of the house across the road with flashlights, they had obviously heard the cat from inside and it was pretty obvious it was theirs. They had located it, it was up a tree. I heard the sounds of the ladder being extended and the cat continuing to howl as I walked back to the car again. I got in, closed the door and just kind of sat there. Lucky lucky people. I started car which took a few tries, and made the 30 second trek back to my house. On the concrete slab outside my house there was the first snail I had seen since the frost hit, the frogs were coming out but not yet as loud as they are in the summer, and I missed Dave tremendously.