Christmas day last year, 2010, was spent in my rental house. In fact we did Christmas a week late since my daughter was sick Christmas day. We spent the day with my daughter and her boyfriend and his daughter and my son. There was plenty of snow and we went outside to try out the new sleds and snowshoes once the presents were unwrapped.
At the time, I was not sure if I’d be living in that duplex for another five years or what would happen. As it turned out I was able to get into a home of my own where we will spend the holidays this year. It’s a good feeling to have my own place again. My kitchen is big so I can make cookies and have room to spread my mess out all over the place!
Snow is coming tonight, so maybe we will have a white Christmas after all.
Last year Richie was with us for Christmas and he was a pest. He tore the ribbons off the packages and wanted to be right in the middle of all the festivities. That was his personality. He seemed fearless and he was very demanding. He’d look at me with half closed eyes as if to say, “ya, so what?”
He came to us with a chunk of fur cut out – we never knew why, but he most likely always got himself into trouble. He was very scruffy looking and his curly fur under his neck was all matted and clumpy, but after a while his black fur was smooth and shiny, and the missing fur grew back. Even though he never really enjoyed being brushed, I had to check him for ticks all summer and he brought lots of them in on him. As soon as he’d come in we’d go into the bathroom and I’d brush him and knock the ticks out of the brush into the toilet.
Richie
He always wanted to be outside. He was a hunter and killed mice, squirrels and (unfortunately) birds. Chipmunks were his favorite prey. They were fun to play with and kept him amused. Many times they also got away from him and would scurry off into the woods. He loved the chase.
He also loved to go for walks with us. In winter and summer he’d follow my son and I out through the woods at our rental house and run up trees along the way.
He woke me up each night as morning approached by digging at my bed or sitting next to my face. He wanted out. One morning about a month after we had moved I let him and Fontana out like always and then I heard a scuffle and noise in the woods and I knew that something (no doubt a fisher cat) had got a hold of one of the cats. I waited to see which one came back. Richie never did.
We miss him, but for the time he was with us he gave us lots of smiles and we’ll never forget our Richie.
It’s Christmas Eve day and the snow is coming later in the day so hubby has been working in the barn finishing up his outside work on our 50 acres while I have been baking like mad for the big family gathering tomorrow.
All four kids live close by and come to our farmhouse, with their families for Christmas dinner. The farm has been in the family for generations and over the years we’ve enjoyed many happy holidays together at the long, wooden table in front of the big fireplace.
We are lucky to have a beautiful view from the big windows along the side of the house and can see the distant mountains quite clearly this time of year. After the snowfall tonight, we will all be able to go outside tobogganing at some point tomorrow. All the grandkids are old enough to enjoy playing in the snow and going sledding and we have the perfect hill that slopes down to the big garden area.
I’m almost done baking the pies, the Christmas tree is decorated with loads of presents heaped underneath and the extra bedrooms are ready for the ones who will spend the night tomorrow. Hubby will come in soon and sit with me by the tree and we’ll watch the snow fall. We’ll have some spiked eggnog or a glass of wine and talk about the day and look forward to tomorrow when the whole family will be together – it will be hectic, but it’s what life is all about.
There are bloggers who will write stories like this and they will be true, but my story is not. I used to think that having dreams that never came true meant I had failed at life somehow, but now I know better. I no longer dream expecting to one day have it happen, but it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the thought. I am blessed to have all that I DO have and I know that.
So what does your Christmas dream look like? Or is it reality?
Our black cat, Skittle, ignored the Christmas tree while we were putting it up and hanging the decorations, but the next morning when I sat down to work at the computer which is in the same room as the tree, she began to climb up through the middle of it.
I sat watching it shake and dislodge some of the ornaments and the string of lights and all I could do was laugh. We knew she would climb it – and she did not disappoint. So now I am taking all the breakable ornaments off because when she jumps out -she doesn’t climb back down – she takes ornaments with her.
This is Skittle’s first Christmas with us and we suspected she’d want to climb the tree since she loves to be up high. It’s one of the reasons I don’t want her to go outside. All those trees to climb – and get stuck in!
Do you have your tree up? Any living ornaments on yours?
♦ Thanks to reader Les who told me about this cute You Tube video about a naughty kitty in a Christmas tree.. funny! See if you can relate to “Simon’s Cat”
