Happy Festivus

The day before Christmas Eve... the sun is out and shining, and the temperature is about sixty degrees. I could do with another ten degrees of warmth, but it isn’t raining or freezing so I won’t complain.

We never did put up a big tree this year, but the rest of the house is all decked out for Christmas. My husband didn’t make the plum pudding either.... the days just disappeared right before our eyes. We were debating whether to have a small dessert party instead of our usual big Christmas party, but then I got a very bad cold and was sick for nearly two weeks. I was not in a party mood this month anyway, so the cold/coughing/sneezing gave me a convenient excuse not to entertain.

I have been reading my Christmas books, both old and new, all of which have made me laugh and made me cry. Seems that it takes a lot to make me laugh out loud these days, but very little to make me cry. I am still in the I-cannot-believe-that-happened stage and it’s going to take a good long while to get past that. I keep looking at old pictures... everyone all dressed up and young and smiling and happy and healthy. That’s the magic word... healthy. One would think, at such a young age, that she would still be smiling and happy, and healthy.

The local animal shelters have been having Pet Adoption Days all over town these past couple of weeks. Kittens and puppies, full-grown cats and dogs... all available with little or no adoption fees, just in time for Christmas. Pictures of smiling children with happy pets have been plastered all over Facebook. I hope there is a pet-god to protect these newly-adopted animals. Protect them from little kids who may not have learned to be gentle with such delicate little lives, and protect them from parents who will return them to the shelter at the first sign of inconvenience or misbehavior. The kittens and puppies are not toys... they are living breathing animals with emotions and feelings and hearts bigger than their owners’ hearts because all of their trust is given to the people who chose to take them home. And if you choose to take a pet out of a shelter and bring it home, that animal is trusting you to take care of it. Forever.... not just until you take down the Christmas decorations.

So be wise, people. Make wise choices.

And Merry Christmas.... wherever you are.