The Catnapping of Santa Claus

Once again, Twiddle O'Toe and Mrs. Twiddle O'Toe settled down and re-commenced their snoring slumber.

Within seconds of the first snores, the little girl had popped up beside the little boy's bed.

"I remember Mommy saying that the cats don't play in the Christmas Tree anymore, but they always seem to hog the bed when Mommy & Daddy are sleeping... Maybe we should try pretending to be cats in their bed..."

"Meow!" said the son.

The two siblings sauntered into their parents' room and slipped onto the mattress. Just like cats, they spun around 4 times each before finding a cozy position somewhere intermingled with their sleeping parents' feet. Then they began to purr.

After several seconds of purring, the children had calmed themselves into a deep slumber.

The night was silent.

Nothing stirred.

MEOW!!! was the next sound awakening all in the bed as the cats sprung up to announce to all that Santa had indeed arrived.

Cats in the Tree By The Light of the Moon

So, the son & daughter crept downstairs and toward the Christmas Tree.

They began to bat at the ornaments and tug at the lights and beads. Soon, the REAL cats in the house began to join in, chewing on the branches and tassels of the ornaments.

In a blink, the boy remembering hearing stories of cats stuck in the Christmas tree, began to stealthily climb...

"MEEeoooWWWW!" he cried as the tree came crashing to the floor...

In a blink, faster than and instant, Twiddle O'Toe was by his side, with a roar.

"YOU are NOT cats! Santa will NOT come until ALL CHILDREN are IN BED!"

"Meow...." cried the imps as they scampered each to their separate rooms...

---Last installment soon---

Christmas Cats


The boy & girl crept downstairs.
The daughter turned to the son and asked, "So, what do you think the cats do at night? It's pretty dark down here..."
The son said, "Meoway Mechase Meowice!"
The daughter said, "You're right! Cats chase mice! Let's play like we're cats that can see so well in the dark and chase the mice..."

Immediately, the boy scurried across the room, knocking over a lamp and running smack into a wall... "WeeeMeoooww!!!"

Twiddle O'Toe and his wife instantly appeared, turning on the lights at the top of the stairs.

"WHAT are you doing?!" blasted Mrs. Twiddle O'Toe...

"Meowasing Meowice!"

"Your father is a fool. Santa will not come if he knows the cats are playing OR if THERE ARE CHILDREN PRETENDING to be CATS! Go BACK to BED!"

"Meo MeoKay..." sighed the boy.
"Yes, mommy." said the girl and the all tumbled back up the stairs and into their beds.

Once again, the sounds of Twiddle O'Toes' snoring roared through the house, accompanied by the slightly less loud wheezing of Mrs. Twiddle O'Toe.

As the daughter began drifting off to sleep, a small boy jumped up on her bed with a "Meow...?"

Daughter sat up, and said, "You're right. OUR cats don't chase mice. We don't have mice in our house. Our cats like to play with the Christmas Tree at night while we're sleeping!...."

...to be continued...

Twiddle O'Toe's Night Before Christmas

Twiddle O'Toe & his wife & their daughter & son had decorated & prepared the house for the Christmas Day. Everything was all decorated. The tree was up; lights aglow. It was Christmas Eve...

Twiddle O'Toe sternly warned the children, "Santa will not come until he knows EVERYONE in the house is asleep..."

The daughter asked, "What about the cats? Do they need to be sleeping when Santa comes?"

Twiddle O'Toe replies, "Santa doesn't worry about cats being awake. They can't give away the secrets of how he works his magic..."

That night they all turned in to go to sleep. Soon, Twiddle O'Toe's snore could be heard through the house.

The daughter crept over to the sons room and woke him up, "If we PRETEND we're cats, maybe Santa will think we're cats and he won't mind if we watch him do his Christmas Eve magic!" To which the son replied, "Meow!"

-----tune in in a few days for the rest of the story..._

Happy to Report

that... I'm happy.

and... our needs are more than met.

and... I smile without having to work at it.

This is all WAY better than it was and felt last year at this time.

LOL

I had a dream last night that I was getting paid for every time someone responded to a post I made (Twitter/Facebook/etc.) with "LOL."

It was very gratifying.

Be nice to get paid for laughter.

Potential Life Lessons From a Bike Ride

(and #LyricsForYouToSteal)

If you're coasting, you're going downhill.

Don't stop working for to conquer the next hill.

Focus on the small steps & what you've conquered. Focusing on the mountains is too daunting.

Crows, one of natures nastiest singers, never seem to doubt their meaning & purpose.

Being Daddy

I've had a lot more time to just be a Daddy.  Being a Daddy, I'm reconnecting to a lot of lost lessons about how a Heavenly Father must feel.

* Kids will often pretend there are dangers (lava flows, etc) that they have to leap over. It's pretend, but they'll let it govern their play to the point that they'll drive themselves to tears when they get "stuck." The lesson should be obvious here.

* Kids will do imaginary play side-by-side. At times when their imaginary worlds conflict, great fights will arise because each is convinced that THEIR imaginary world is MUCH more real and important than the other's. Reminds me a lot of when we argued about what "worship" is.

* Often Daddy's greatest joy comes from just watching their children at play, happy and safe.

* My children will often try to give me choices about what I should allow them to do.  They see no irony to this because we give them similar choices all of the time.  How often do we pray, "God if you could *just* do this OR this, I'm sure I would be happy and safe."

* Parents see much more of the forest than the child will see.  God is even bigger.

I need to remind myself that the goal of a good parent is to see their children grow up safe, secure, & happy/content.  Why would God be hoping for anything less?

Dreams

Realized yesterday that I've been sleeping without medication or interruption fairly consistently.  Haven't been blessed with that since August.  It feels good.

Also means some dreams have been longer and more interesting.

Last night I had a dream that was fantastic. It had plot twists and a surprise ending. I really should've written some of it down, 'cause now I can't remember what happened.

I'm sure it would've rivaled "Lost."

I am smiling

and laughing.

Without having to think, "I should smile now; it would be appropriate."

The laughter of my family lifts my spirits.