December 20, 2023
As of last night, and with the
help of two of our great-grandchildren, our Christmas tree is finally up and
decorated.
David had taken the tree out
of the box and put it up earlier in the day, since we knew the younger ones
would be here for supper and to spend time with their grandmother, our
daughter. We also had wanted the tree itself to be erected for a few hours
ahead of decorating because, different this year for us, we have a kitten-cat
in the house.
Smokey is still of the opinion
that there are but three things in the world—play, food, and sleep. And the
greatest of these is, of course, play. We weren’t completely certain how the
tree was going to fare this year.
For the last several years, we
have had this artificial tree that stands but four and a half feet tall. When
we first erected this tree, we knew immediately that our old, regular-sized
ornaments would never do, so we set about purchasing miniature ornaments. I
must say that of all the trees we’ve had over the years, I think I’m happiest
with this one. We don’t buy tinsel anymore—it’s been about four years since we
last laid those silver icicles on the green, manufactured boughs. Of course,
that doesn’t mean there is not still the odd piece of a glittering metallic strip
to be found. (David was proud that he
saw one and grabbed that sucker right off there as he was putting it together,
because, well, cats and tinsel do not a happy combination make.)
After David erected the tree,
I took up the box that contained our ornaments and culled out all that were
made of glass and therefore easily breakable. Those will have to sit out this
year. It seemed to me that it would be the height of arrogance to put glass
ornaments on the first-ever Christmas tree of Smokey-kitty. We still had a lot
of little wooden and plastic ornaments left to adorn the tree, so that was fine.
After supper, while their Nana
did the dishes, I put hooks on ornaments and handed them out to the kids to
hang. They listened intently as I asked them to not cluster the ornaments in
one spot and to not hang anything near the bottom of the tree. Of course, they
nodded their understanding and then proceeded to hang the ornaments in clusters
and along the bottom…. well, they’re 10 and 9 years of age, and listened
according to the norms for their ages.
A good couple of hours passed after
decorating the tree, before the kitty finally noticed that there was something
different about the new thing his grandpa had put up in the living room. And
about five more seconds after that for him to capture his first prize from the
tree—a very miniature toy soldier.
On the positive side, Smokey-kitty
was very delicate about separating tree and trinket. On the negative side, those
tiniest of ornaments could be a choking hazard for him, so I took it from him,
and then moved the handful of others that were of a similar size to a spot out
of kitty-sight and therefore, hopefully, out of kitty-reach.
Also on the plus side, Smokey
doesn’t seem overly fixated on the new item in his world. While he does love to
play, his third most preferred group of toys are the dogs—he has a patented
stalking, then leaping very close to but not on them manoeuvre that is truly
something to behold. His second-best toy is human feet. Coming, going, cane-aided
or not, the little critter loves capturing those feet and then curling around
the legs that support them and hanging on—either for a ride, a fling, or to
nibble, whatever the mood of the moment may be.
But the number one favorite
toy of this silly kitty remains, thank God, the tried-and-true bit of crumpled
paper. We keep stashes of paper in the kitchen, in my office, and in the living
room. I cut up pharmacy bags and junk mail to amass those stashes. So there, at
the ready, are hidden piles of pure kitty bliss. Just waiting to be crumpled
into tight balls and tossed.
I am grateful for the
availability and efficacy of this simple, so far no-fail distraction. I don’t
even mind picking up the deserted and/or cached bunch of “toys” Smokey strews
throughout the house on a daily basis. Some can be reused to distract anew, and
some are assigned to the trash. And since these bits of paper are all from
paper that has already been used once or even twice, I tell myself I am not
only entertaining the cat among us.
I’m also doing my part for the
environment.
Love,
Morgan
https://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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