I Don't Want It!

This is the first year that Christmas actually meant something to my three year old; Santa who gives presents and presents. Unfortunately this present fixation is fed by the fact that her birthday is the week after Christmas. Yahoo. Also, being young, she wants some unusual gifts, like a rainbow mommy goose. Mrs. Claus had to do some sewing for that; $2.00 and 6 hours later she had one and a favorite, so far, of Mackenzie's. She also asked for purple bubblegum which I have yet to find. And a crawling My Lil'Pony that she put in her toy box Christmas night, not in her bed with the Webkinz. And I swear she asked for a Baby Alive. I rushed out to get one in October when they were on sale from $59 to $48 and tucked it away. In late November I discovered that they were now selling for $30. What?! and Ouch! Of course there's a no returns after 20 days policy. I could likely get around that after Christmas. Anyhow, Christmas morning arrives. Taylor wakes at 7:11am and crawls in with Daddy and I. She ignored the presents under her tree in her room and she patiently waits for Mackenzie to get up at 7:40am. Mackenzie then goes through her gifts like the Tasmanian Devil; dumping out her stocking in the middle of Taylor's bedroom floor while Taylor goes through her bedroom gifts, then ripping open anything with an "M" on it under the tree. From time to time she'd stop and spin around asking, "where's another present for me? There's no more presents for me?" Well, she excitedly gave her goose a hug and a kiss saying, "Me love it! It's so soft!" And she excitedly said that the crawling pony was, "just what me wanted" before tossing it aside and moving on. Well, she tore open her Baby Alive doll, just had the front paper torn off, took a peek at what it was and tossed it down in disgust as only Mackenzie can express it, "I don't want that! I don't like babies!" Well the poor doll sat to the side of the living room, in the box until boxing day. I had been thinking I might get my $15 back after all and take the doll to the store, it was a Christmas present and yes I have the receipt. As I folded the clothes in the bedroom wondering when returns were permitted, Taylor came in and asked if she could have the doll. I suggested we could take it to the store and get the crawling pony she wanted and didn't receive and still have money left over. Taylor paused considering her options, "no, I want the doll. I'll take good care of it." Well I thought this could be dangerously interesting. So we unpacked the doll undoing all the twist ties and tape and so on. Taylor then set about feeding the doll that came with only two diapers and two packages of food. Mackenzie surprisingly only wanted to have a turn feeding the doll and then moved on. Taylor on the other hand has been quite attentive to her doll and will talk to it as it talks to her and rushes around trying to attend it's every request. I had to tell her that she could put it down and it would go to sleep and give her a break. Taylor will have to give her a name after all, all her new Webkinz received names. Daddy asked what we should get to replace Mackenzie's present. I told him not to worry about it. She should learn to take what she gets and has too much anyway, plus there's more gifts in her future with a birthday around the corner.

Goodbye to a Good Friend

During Thanksgiving weekend 1991, my sister Andrea gave me an early Christmas present, a black, 8 month old kitten with white down his nose and white on his paws. The summer before we had put our 13 year old cat to sleep after he got into antifreeze and his kidneys shut down and my 7 month old grey tiger-striped kitty had disappeared. My sister had rescued yet another cat as this one had been dumped in a ditch. This new feline acquired the name "Ajax" from a Shakespearean play I was reading for English literature at the time. Perhaps ironically, Ajax wasn't the black character in the play "Othello". Ajax came to live with me in my first ever apartment and got to know my friends, roommates, boyfriend, and pet fish at that time. Three years later he travelled from Marc's apartment to our old apartment when I moved without him into a no cats apartment. He somehow survived travelling the main street of Wolfville during this search. His collar tag helped someone nearby to get in touch with me. After exploring my new apartment he was okay with residing elsewhere. Ajax stayed with me while I graduated three times from university (I went back and got my honors when I didn't get into the Bachelor of Education program right away).

Ajax and I moved back home to mum and dad's when I graduated for the last time in 1994. He was with me through the break up of my boyfriend of five years. He also gave me comfort as I struggled to get a teaching job and substitute taught for seven years. Three years later, in late 1997, he moved with me into an apartment in a 100 year old home. He gave me love and companionship as I lived for the first time, alone and single, for three years. He would greet me at the door no matter the hour, he would snuggle with me and keep me warm at night, and he comforted me when I was sick or feeling very much alone. In 2000, he moved in with mum and dad again while I stayed in a cat-free apartment before getting married in 2001. He lived with me again after I married. We lived at that location for just over a year before moving again into my first home (that I choose) and a week before the birth of my first child, Taylor. Ajax kept me company through all those late night nursings and frustrations of a new mother with an infant that isn't nursing well. He was also with me while my step-daughter lived with us for 11 months in 2003. Ajax lived with us in Lucasville through Taylor's birth and growth until I was pregnant with my second child, Mackenzie.

I am allergic to cats. A discovery I learned after I already had Ajax for awhile. I was advised to give him away as I was highly allergic to cats and that he could still live for quite a while. Warren is also asthmatic. To top things off, I wasn't to be near kitty litter while I was pregnant and Warren - mister anti-cats - wasn't going through another nine months of kitty litter duty. I tried to find Ajax a new home and in the end mum and dad adopted him. Three years later or during this past year he developed hyper-thyroid and lost his hearing. He went down hill health wise rapidly. Apparently Dad wasn't ready to let him go and Mum continued to pay for his medicine at $80 a month until this past week. Ajax stopped eating last weekend and had a visible growth on his leg that he kept chewing at. Monday 22 December 2008 at 4:40pm, I took the girls with me to meet mum at the vet. We all went in the exam room to pet him and say, "goodbye." Then mum stayed with him for the needle and we returned shortly afterwards to say, "goodbye" again. I fell apart when I wasn't expecting to but Ajax had been my comfort and friend for years. I also won't be getting another cat to ease the transition. Mackenzie said it was scary but now she won't be asking constantly where is Ajax as she did when Maddy died past spring. Taylor said it was sad and had a lot of questions going to the vet and since then, mainly around how sad am I and how sad she is. I found comfort when Taylor reflected the words I had spoken to her earlier as I tried to explain why we were putting Ajax to sleep or killing him, letting him die, "his medicine wasn't helping any more, so he won't hurt any more." She also added her own thoughts, "and now he's in heaven with Jesus." I would also like to add that she also asked me why we don't do that for people, let them die when their medicine isn't working any more and they are in pain. Good question, don't you think?

Grammie, I need money

Mackenzie never has no likely ever will be known as subtle. While shopping yesterday for Angel tree gifts, Santa was spotting in his large chair, waving at girls and boys. Mackenzie started walking right up the red carpet until I stopped her and said we should ask Grammie if we could borrow some money because I didn't have any cash. Taylor hung back a bit not sure what to do. While I was telling her of our cash dilemma, Santa picked out two reindeer antler hats and candy canes and waved her forward. Taylor didn't hesitate then and went up to Santa, excited at his gifts. Mackenzie then returned with a twenty dollar bill, gave the money to me and went up to see Santa and what Taylor had. Santa put together the hats for the girls and was fitting them on when the photographer asked him to wait as we'd like to get a photo. I had been chatting with the photographer. The girls sat pleased as punch, for the first time ever, on Santa's knee. As there was no line up they had quite a chat as well. Taylor keeps reminding Mackenzie that she told Santa that she would be good until Christmas eve. Taylor also adds that she told Santa that she would try her best because we all make mistakes sometimes. - Grammie appeared later and explained that Mackenzie had found her in the Dollarstore, came right up and abruptly said, "Grammie, we need money." I don't think I've ever not been afraid of Santa, a stranger in a stranger beard. I also don't think I've ever been that bold asking for money. Who is Mackenzie related to anyway?