Santa Paws

When I asked Jacob if he thought the reason he wasn't talking about his feelings about losing Cory was because she was the one he often talked to about things that bothered him, he answered immediately,  "Mom!  That is a good thought."

"Oh hey, Jake, guess what else I thought about?  It's a good thing." 

"What?"

"Do you remember how Cory was the one who started doing voices for the pets, making Church talk and be silly?"  I asked.


"Yeah."

"We are carrying that on when we make the kittens talk to each other and pretend."  I said.

"OH!!!  Yeah, Mom, we are.  Cory would think that was so cool."  He said, saying his sister's name with a big smile.

I stopped the discussion there, thrilled.


The next couple days, I tried to figure out how we were going to handle Christmas.  We still have no tree up, or any acknowledgement of the holiday season.  Everyone says we have to at least put a tree up for Jake, who seems just as melancholy as the rest of us, and I suspect only wants his haul delivered at his feet, so he can avoid the pain of walking into the living room alone to see what Santa left.

I heard him talking to the kittens the other day after how the whole Santa thing worked.  (Sidenote here:  If you are a child living in my house, you will go along with the Santa thing until you are at least 26, just get on board).  "You put up a tree, you leave your stocking out, and if you've been good, Santa will bring you surprises."

At this point, he switched over to his "Lucas the kitten" voice to ask anxiously, what if you haven't been good everyday?  What if you try, but tend to get in trouble because you like getting into things?

Jake reassured his young feline charge that Santa Paws could see into your kitten heart, and knew if you were really a good boy.  The important thing was to keep trying.

Jacob is quite taken with his kittens which were gotten after Church and Sassy passed away.   These fur-siblings have brought him more comfort than any of us humans put together.  He wants them with him all the time, carrying them from room to room, watching movies with him, sneaking them a French fry, and placing them on the bathmat while he showers.  Jacob want no part of being the only child, and it's been a lonely role for him.

I remember how he looked last Christmas, excited, sure, but equally miserable  to see his gifts sitting under the tree, as sad as any single pile of gaily wrapped packages can be.

I think I'd like to ease that pain for him.  This year, Santa Paws will be making a surprise stop at our house.  He will leave some inexpensive treats- soft cat food, toy mice, new collars, and the like.  And of course, something extra special for our canine little old man of the hour, Gizmo.

I think that just might bring a smile to Jacob's face that will last the whole day.  And Cory would've been all over it.