Toni Ahvenainen
Taking care of witnesses
Day 29 of 365
I'm not sure if Aura's sleeping cat is something I would call a toy. Sure it is a toy cat and not a real cat by any means; and while Aura plays a lot with it, she also has a deeper relationship with it compared to her other toys. Usually when Aura plays with something else or we take care of her, like change diapers or feed her, the cat has to sit there and watch it happen. At this point I'm tempted to call Aura's sleeping cat either a witness or a supervisor, and the everyday life where we take care of Aura is like a staged show for the cat. It is intriguing, but also difficult to explain. Maybe cat is like a third parent for Aura and it is important to her that the cat also notices the things she does? Or maybe it's just me who is projecting all sort of psychological interpretations to the cat. Being a good parent involves certain stress and maybe I'm just recognizing this pressure through the cat? Either way, I know the cat has some sort special place in our family – for example, we guard that nothing bad happens to it. It is not a toy nor a person, but something in between, living in the gray area of normal categorizations and psychological undercurrents where magic pours into human cultures.
Ps. With this post, I'm also changing my habit of daily updates. My next blog post will happen at Saturday and I will explain changes more.
Year of the Alpha – 365 Days of Sony Alpha Photography: www.yearofthealpha.com
Taking care of witnesses
Day 29 of 365
I'm not sure if Aura's sleeping cat is something I would call a toy. Sure it is a toy cat and not a real cat by any means; and while Aura plays a lot with it, she also has a deeper relationship with it compared to her other toys. Usually when Aura plays with something else or we take care of her, like change diapers or feed her, the cat has to sit there and watch it happen. At this point I'm tempted to call Aura's sleeping cat either a witness or a supervisor, and the everyday life where we take care of Aura is like a staged show for the cat. It is intriguing, but also difficult to explain. Maybe cat is like a third parent for Aura and it is important to her that the cat also notices the things she does? Or maybe it's just me who is projecting all sort of psychological interpretations to the cat. Being a good parent involves certain stress and maybe I'm just recognizing this pressure through the cat? Either way, I know the cat has some sort special place in our family – for example, we guard that nothing bad happens to it. It is not a toy nor a person, but something in between, living in the gray area of normal categorizations and psychological undercurrents where magic pours into human cultures.
Ps. With this post, I'm also changing my habit of daily updates. My next blog post will happen at Saturday and I will explain changes more.
Year of the Alpha – 365 Days of Sony Alpha Photography: www.yearofthealpha.com