Thomas: Distractions can lead to missed opportunities

I was doing my usual Sunday chores around the house when I looked out the front door to see a stand-off of sorts unfolding on my own porch.

At the edge of the porch sat Peaches, a cat, which I've come to call my friend, who was staring intently at the ground.

At first I though he may have just been bored staring off into empty space. But upon closer examination I realized that was not the case.

I looked out the window surveying the front yard where Peaches was staring and after a few moments I caught a glimpse at what had caught the cat's eye.

Hidden among the grass and weeds was a lizard that with a reptile-gaze fixed upon Peaches.

This would the first time I have seen Peaches interact with a lizard and I was not sure how he would react.

I have seen cats chase after lizards before, much like they do with mice or bugs.

The two sat motionless for what seemed hours; in fact, I was beginning to wonder if they were even looking at each other at all. I mean for all I knew Peaches was daydreaming about a fish filled utopia. He has a history of being an odd cat.

I stood there watching the two knowing that the outcome would not affect me; although at that moment it had affected my productivity. I started to laugh thinking what if one of my neighbors happened to look over to see me standing at the front window staring at a cat, which to their knowledge is simply sitting on a porch, as they can't see the lizard.

The stalemate was about to come to an abrupt end when a car drove through the alley turning onto the street. As usual, the driver of the car was traveling a bit fast which caused considerable noise from tires spun some of the loose rocks.

My assumption proved to be correct as Peaches looked to see what had made the noise and the lizard used this opportunity to make his escape. Peaches' attention quickly returned to the lizard and he leaped from the porch in pursuit of the lizard.

The lizard would jump and changed directions quickly just long enough to pass through the fence, which served to block Peaches from continuing the chase.

Peaches looked around the fence line for a moment to make sure he was not overlooking the lizard and made his way to a low spot where he climbed over and continued his search.

I returned to my chores thinking that if the lizard was smart, it was long gone by the time Peaches jumped the fence.

About 10 minutes had passed and as I looked out the back door I saw Peaches patrolling the fence line possibly looking for any sign of the scaly creature that eluded his grasp.

Peaches returned to the porch where he sat for sometime as the sun set with his gaze fixed on the yard, his attention drawn to any movement. Eventually Peaches attention was drawn to something else as he made his way into the dusk.

While I am probably reading too much into their encounter, I came away with a little bit of insight.

Peaches like so many of us was focused on a goal, prize or in his case, a snack. While he had the desire to see it through, a distraction kept him from success. Now the lizard, he took advantage of an opportunity to better improve his situation, which so many of us should do when given the chance.

Thomas Garcia is a senior writer for the Quay County Sun. He can be contacted at [email protected]