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| We have Christmas-compatibility issues with our cats |
I
love Christmas—the meaning, the music, the movies, the decorations, the giving,
the goodies, the goodwill toward all. Why is this season so special to me? Maybe it’s
because my birthday, anniversary, and Christmas are all rolled up into a five-day span, or maybe it’s the holiday performances I begin practicing for in
September (my apologies to family and friends who weren’t in the mood to hear “Silent
Night” on Labor Day weekend), or maybe it’s shopping for special gifts beginning
on December 26th and lasting
until November 1st (after which I refuse to fight the crowds)…whatever
the reason, it is secondary to the joy and wonder of God’s gift, His beloved Son,
and the goodness it inspires in us.
There
was a time when I went all-out with Christmas decorating. Having cats has changed my approach. Actually, it drastically simplified the
decorating and it pretty much decimated a few traditions. For example, I no longer display the
Fontanini nativity set that Mom collected for me when I was young. Not only was it a beautiful
display, the unbreakable resin pieces were perfect action figures for my preschooler to use for reenacting the Christmas story. The set has been lovingly stored since the
day I found Monty and his littermates batting around Baby Jesus like a hockey
puck. When it comes to cats, there just
isn’t a place high enough to display precious decorations.
I
have (make that “had”) one other special Christmas collection—Olde World
Christmas glass ornaments—one carefully selected each year to
symbolize a special memory of our marriage.
This collection was discontinued after the cats knocked
over the tree and shattered about seven years’ worth of memories. On that day if I had not consciously decided that
things are less important than loved ones, we wouldn't have cats
anymore.
Our
final holiday concession to the cats is the Christmas tree. After several years of pulling fighting
animals out of the branches, reassembling disassembled bows and packages, and repairing ornaments that had been used for batting practice, I
gave up…no more tree. Last year, to relieve my nostalgic need for evergreen branches, I assembled
our artificial tree on the patio and enjoyed the lights from the kitchen
window.
So
our halls aren’t decked with many decorations and the gifts stay in storage
until we pass them out, we still enjoy the most important part of the
holidays—sharing God’s love and joy with family, neighbors, friends…and
cats.
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| Our tree alternative |
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