I hit a kitten once on my way home from shooting a wedding one night a couple of summers ago. The little guy jumped out in the middle of the road and a moment later I felt him under my tires. I screamed in total terror and could hardly breathe the entire way home. I walked in the door of our house…tears streaming down my face as though I had just seen a ghost. Even though it was the middle of the night, I made my husband go out and look for the kitten. I’m not really sure what I sent him to find…but I just needed to know that it was scared or suffering.

I had nightmares about it that entire night.

It was one of the more traumatizing things that I’ve done in my life and oddly enough, few people truly understood the way I felt…the degree to which it pained me to know what I had happened. Even my sweet husband, though he sympathized with me…he’s also a country boy…and this sort of thing happened on a weekly basis for him.

Anaique was the first one to notice the little guy just staring up at us from the woods. A furry little black kitten…only months old, hiding among the trees. Anaique stopped in her tracks and immediately had a look of distress on her face. A look I recognized. The kitten had a collar on and ran out to her the moment she held out her hand. He purred and wrapped himself around her leg…like they had known each other their whole lives.

The little guy was safe. We knew that. The little guy was close to home. We knew that too. But it was still a little hard to wonder. After we got our dose of kitten cuddles…we went on our way and I told Anaique and Alex about what had a happened. And as the words came out of my mouth…you could almost hear our collective hearts breaking. They ‘got’ it. These beautiful people ‘got’ me! And there’s something immensely comforting about knowing that there are people like that out there in the world. People who get you…people who understand you…people who are built just like you.

And even for just that single little moment…I will be eternally grateful for these two amazing souls…