‘That makes sense,’ George hissed in my ear. I shook my whiskers, it really didn’t.
‘Well, that’s one way of looking at it,’ Jonathan said, diplomatically. ‘But Toby, you are a good boy, one of the very best, so if Summer’s right then you are doing Christmas very well.’
‘But at school the teacher said that Christmas is about the birth of baby Jesus and he was a gift from God, and that’s why we give gifts to people we love,’ Toby explained. I glanced at George. Maybe I should have left the explanation of Christmas to the humans, I hadn’t quite got a handle on it, it seemed.
‘Well yes,’ Claire said. ‘What’s wrong with that?’
‘I don’t know how to buy gifts,’ Toby said finally. I saw Claire and Jonathan exchange glances.
‘I don’t know either,’ Summer suddenly looked panicked.
‘So, if we have to buy gifts for people we love and we don’t know how to buy gifts then how do you know we love you?’ Toby’s logic was, well, almost logical, I thought.
‘Oh Tobe, buying gifts is only one part of Christmas. But, you can always ask me to take you shopping, or Jonathan.’ They looked at each other again, as if it hadn’t occurred to them that the children would want to buy presents for them. ‘But we don’t need you to buy us gifts, honestly, you two are the only gifts we need.’
‘But I want to. I want to give you a gift because I love you so much. And I’ve got pocket money,’ Toby said.
‘Me too.’ Summer was definitely on this bandwagon.
‘How about we all go shopping this weekend,’ Claire said. Jonathan tried not to looked dismayed. He hated shopping.
‘I need to write a list,’ Toby suddenly dried his tears and jumped up.
‘Me too,’ Summer said.
‘Well you can’t write so maybe we could do it together,’ Toby suggested.
‘Yes!’ Summer beamed.
‘This is my first ever Christmas with a family, so I have to make sure it’s right,’ Toby said, seriously pulling out a pad and pencil.
‘Meow,’ George said, meaning ‘me too.’
‘It will be perfect, Toby because you are with us and we’re a family, a wonderful, perfect family,’ Claire said, teary eyed. ‘Me, Jonathan, you, Summer, Alfie and George, the best family ever.’
I felt myself choking up. Even Jonathan blinked a bit, I could tell he was emotional because he was staring at his socks.
They went in for a hug, all of them, with George right in the middle. I looked on feeling so warm and fuzzy; I was so proud of my family, and so, so lucky to have them all.
Later that evening as George and I went out for our last walk, he was quieter than normal.
‘Are you alight son?’ I asked.
‘I’m more than alright, Dad,’ he replied. ‘I know what Christmas is about now, it’s simply about love and nothing else matters.’ I was so, so proud of my boy. ‘Apart from Pilchards of course,’ he finished.
THE KITTENS FIRST CHRISTMAS
It’s the most wonderful time of year. It’s also the most exhausting. For a cat like me, it’s especially busy. Not only do I have to keep my eye on all my humans – hard work believe me, but I also have an ever-expanding cat family to take care of. My Grand kittens, Santa, Holly, and Tiger are about to turn one on Christmas day. So, not only is it their first Christmas, but it’s also their first birthday. That makes this Christmas even more special for us all.
It has not been an easy year for any of us, of course. I won’t mention the pandemic that has gripped us, after all, you’ve had to live it too, so I know you understand. But apart from that, George took to fatherhood like a cat to pilchards, Hana was the same with motherhood despite the many logistical issues. And if I thought one kitten was hard work, imagine what three was like.
Where Hana lived there was a human kitten; Theo, who was now a toddler, so it was a lot for her humans to suddenly take on three kittens as well. With my guidance, the humans came up with a kitten share idea, where they lived with us half the time, and next door at Hana’s the other half. Of course, that means it’s cat chaos in both houses most of the time. Hana spends time with us and the kittens. George is always over at her house when the kittens are and I am constantly running from house to house to check on them and everyone else. I have a lot of houses, families, and cats to check on. But then I am, at heart, still a doorstep cat after all.
The Christmas trees went up, amidst lots of excitement. It wasn’t Theo’s first Christmas technically, but it was the first when he was toddling about, which meant that the trees were in danger from him, as well as the kittens. Actually, between him and the kittens, the tree at Hana’s house became something of a mess, much to their human’s despair. Theo would try to pull the decorations off, which if he wasn’t being watched meant he was in danger of actually pulling the tree over. We all had to keep a close eye on him. This in turn meant that Santa, Holly, and Tiger weren’t really given many opportunities to do anything to the tree either, much to their disgust. At night, the living room door was firmly shut. I noticed that Santa would look especially longingly at the tree, as he was a climber. Holly would have to resist pawing at the tinsel because she loved anything shiny, and Tiger liked to look at his own reflection in the baubles, which he would then seem to fight – I have no idea where he got his vanity from.
Like human children, I’d come to see that our kittens were very different from each other. Holly was the only female cat and although that didn’t mean anything – we cats are not ones for gender stereotypes – Holly was like her mother, gentle, kind, and calm, or calmer than the boys. She was attracted to pretty things and when she was at our house she loved playing dress-up with Summer and Martha if she was there. She was also very good friends with Pickles the pug, and being kind meant that she gave him the time of day, whereas her brothers, like their father George were prone to tease him. Poor Pickles, although he didn’t seem to realise he was being teased, so he didn’t mind too much.
Santa was a hectic kitten, he would run at one hundred miles an hour, or so it seemed, and then he would curl up and sleep a lot, usually on the most expensive blanket or piece of clothing he could find (ask Jonathan). But he seemed to have his own time clock and he would often wake his brother and sister up when he wanted to play, which would in turn wake George, Hana or myself up. Tiger was a bit like his namesake, my lovely Tiger who I still missed every day, he was fearless, and bossy and clever. He was, kind of, the ring leader of the kittens, although he was the one who would inevitably be too busy having fun to remember to do what he was told.
I loved my grandkittens so much but I also felt for Hana and George. I thought parenting George had been hard enough, but there were three of them. Just trying to keep track of them could be a full-time job. Looking after them made me feel nostalgic for the days when George was a kitten, but only for a little while, then I remembered how I used to worry about him all the time, panic when I didn’t know where he was. I have to admit I did lose him a few times, but that’s a whole other story; or bunch of stories. I still worried about George now, even though he was a grown cat and a father, I don’t think parents ever stop worrying.
The children were very helpful with the kittens and they adored them. George was put out at first, at how he seemed to be usurped in everyone’s attention by the kittens, but I had found this when he was a kitten so was able to explain and also sympathise. I said it was a factor of growing up, adults were just not as adorable as babies, or children. It was the way of the world. Summer, Toby, Henry and Martha, loved playing with the kittens and that was just how it was. George didn’t want to even play such games but he still felt put out, although he soon learnt to hide that. I also think that as Hana’s attention was now more on her babies, he missed that too. George was a little fond of attention I know, so I understood but of course, he now had children. Being a parent is the hardest job in the world. I was now finding out that being a grandparent was a close second.