[AT] Mother's Day Gift

[H. L. Staples]

Kinda slow so here you go.
 
H. L. 



"Why my lips stayed chapped on Mother's Day" 

So, we had this great 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently 
died. Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit 
on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all 
day long on this mat in our bathroom. 

Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 

3 years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves 
chapstick. LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then 
losing it. So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep 

my chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he 
needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done. 

Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and 
try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My 
two boys are fighting over the toy in the cere al box. I am trying to 
nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. 
Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a 
wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood. 

We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I am 
looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the 
corner to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my 

chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . . rear end. Eli looked right 
into my eyes and said "chapped." Now if you have a cat, you know that 
he is right--their little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, 
Jack didn't seem to mind. 

And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the 

FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth. And 
THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that 

no matter how hard we try to civilize th ese glorious little creatures, 
there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your 
chapstick on the cat's butt. 
************************************************************************ 
******