Christmas, Cats and Ben's Imagination Gets out of Hand

Ahh.. the Holidays! Our house is full right now…and about to be even more full. Full of the smell of a fresh Christmas Tree, full of frisky kittens and lazy cats, full of sweet treats courtesy of Bethany’s “12 days of Baking”, full of the sound of a 14 month old singer/percussionist/dancer/athlete named Jackson, full of love…that intangible, irrepressible warmth that abounds within us, between us and (sometimes) in spite of us. how could life get any better? Oh yeah, Bethany’s mom and little (big) brother Madison are coming this weekend with their animals (the more full I mentioned earlier). The more the merrier. They are always a wonderful addition – it wouldn’t be Christmas without them.

Their animals are like family to us too. LuLu, Rebel and Pearl our like cousins to our cats, and always get their own stockings. We used to bring our cats over to Bethany's parents house every time we came over. I think Oscar actually liked living with them better than he did with us. On Christmas Eve, Traci would break out the tuna and give all six cats a special treat. People say that you'll never get Israelis and Arabs to sit down at the table of peace, but the real sign of peace on earth is six cats eating tuna side by side. Six lapping tongues, six tails standing strait at attention, six contented tummies. The mere memory warms the heart. Unfortunately, we've lost a few and added a few, and the changes have created discord in the cat realm. I'm not sure how it will go this year, but I expect there to be a power struggle between the traditional powers of Queen Pearl of The Mountain, aging König Rebel of Deutschland, and the local powers of Queen Foofy of Bee Branch and (possibly dying) King Mighlough of Toad Suck. The kittens may be in jeopardy because of rumored ties to certain Memphis cat familes of questionable repute. Bottom line, no cat is safe- all cats Watch Your Back! I'd put nothing past Pearl, and Mighlough has not been cleared as a suspect in the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of King Oscar I, the first ruler of the McGhehey Household. I think I've said to much already.

The cats aren't the only ones who have changed though. I met Bethany when Madison was 9, back when he still liked to line up and sprint into the living room like a race horse on Christmas morning. He would behold the splendor of his Christmas bounty and go from toy to toy grinning like Spongebob and emitting a mischievous squeal. Last year, we couldn’t get him out of bed for anything. My how time changes us. He’s a full blown teenager now. This year we are preparing a toy bounty for Jackson. I absolutely can not wait. He's so much fun right now - I had no idea that parents had this much fun at Christmas.

~ Ben