Loss and Love at Christmas Time
Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of the year. Between giving gifts and seeing all the lights, it’s just always held such a special place in my heart. Being around family this time of year always means more to me than any gift I could ever receive. Whenever we lose a family member it always makes the first Christmas feel a little heavier. This Christmas we have to be without a few of our family members. Two of which hold a very special place in my heart, and will for a very long time. Their names are Sesame and Stormy, two of the best pets I’ve ever had. And naturally they were our Christmas pup and Christmas kitty. We didn’t get them on Christmas, they both just loved the holiday.
Sesame’s favorite thing to do around Christmas was get in the way of anything Mom was doing. My mom that is, they were both our family pets. Whenever we put up the tree and we’d stack up the ornament boxes, if they were in her way at all, she would plow right through them. Then there was wrapping presents. We’d have to yell at her whenever she would get close to the wrapping paper, otherwise she’d put holes in it by trying to walk across before quickly realizing ‘nope wrong way.’
Stormy was the same way with the wrapping paper. She would try to walk over it with her little paws, inevitably putting her nails through a piece or two. She’d either try to walk over it or she’d get into one of her playful moods and try to catch something that caught her eye underneath the wrapping paper. Sometimes she would go after a finger you’re trying to use for the sake of said wrapping. This would always make us laugh before Mom inevitably scolded her. Another thing she absolutely loved was the Christmas tree. So many Christmases were spent with Mom yelling at the cat to leave the tree alone. After many fallen ornaments and enough smacks on the nose, she did eventually, especially as she got older. Then she would just crawl behind it and bury herself in the presents and the lights. Always one of my favorites, seeing her little face poke out at you from the lights.
Christmas morning was always my favorite with the two of them. We’d bring their stockings to them wherever they were in the house and open their presents that they got. Sesame wouldn’t care too much unless you were going to give her one of her new raw hides or treats. Although there was one Christmas that she got a new hockey stick, which she was pretty excited about. Stormy on the other hand would play with her new catnip filled toys as soon as you unwrapped them for her. I loved watching her play with her new toys, one of my favorite parts of Christmas. I remember when I was working at a pet store and I was able to get her little goodies. She absolutely loved what I picked out for her, instantly playing with the toys I got for her. That was definitely a proud cat mom/sister moment.
I love having all these memories, but right now they sting. They still make me smile through the tears and maybe one day I won’t cry when I remember them. It’s just hard knowing that their stockings aren’t going to be there this year. That they’re both missing from the mantle instead of just one. At the same time though we had them both for so long that it’s okay. I keep trying to tell myself that. They both lived a long happy life with us.
One day these memories won’t hurt so much. Someday the memories will bring smiles to our faces again. Right now, they bring both tears and a small smile. These losses, for me, hit a little closer to home and I know they will for a long time yet to come. Then someday my husband and I will get pets of our own and love them as long as they let us. Once they’ve lived their time with us it’ll still hurt and it’ll bring back all the hurt that was there before, but it’ll be worth it to know that we were able to give an animal a loving home for as long as we were able to. Love and loss are things that hit a little harder at Christmas time. It’s bearable, but the first one is always the hardest. We just have to remember that they’re always with us, playing in the snow and with new toys. They’ll always be in our hearts as long as we remember them and the good times, we had with them.
