Our Christmas could be summed up with one word and that word is “Snake!” Katie Beth has been wanting a snake with every request given to Santa Claus in person or via letter.
This morning when Katie Beth came down stairs and assessed the Christmas tree and the spread of gifts, she didn’t see anything that jumped out at her. She proceeded to a gift that had been under the tree for many days. She asked if she could open it and with quick concurrence she was off to opening.
Meanwhile, Karen is videoing and I’m snapping photos. In the background, animal sounds are heard and Katie Beth moves onto the next present while asking can she continue. “Go ahead”, we concur.
The animal sounds continue, but louder without Katie Beth noticing anything. At this point, Karen is unable to hold the video camera steady due to giggling so much.
Katie Beth asks to proceed to the third gift all the while the animal noises are getting very loud. Finally, the light bulb of curiosity goes off in Katie Beth’s head.
She focuses her attention on the large covered gift in the corner. With a little delay, she uncovers the gift to see a pet carrier. Her face lights up with a glowing smile that doesn’t stop.
She starts to open the carrier to have a kitten pop his head out the top. From this moment on, the kitten is the focus even while other activities are proceeding. Katie Beth is beside herself and can’t stop smiling.
The rest of the morning is a almost a blur.
Ah, the snake. Here is how that came about?
Karen: “Is this what you asked for?”
Katie Beth said, “Yes.”
Karen: “It is? So, this is what?”
Katie Beth: “What I asked for.”
Karen: “What did you ask for?”
Katie Beth: “I asked for a pet, basically.”
Karen: “What kind of pet did you ask for?”
Katie Beth: “A cat or a snake.”
Karen: “I only heard one pet from Santa. Santa said you only asked for one pet.”
Katie Beth: “A snake.”
Karen: “So, this is? What you asked for? Did you get what you asked for? So, is this snake?”
Katie Beth: “Are you blind?”
Karen: laughs, “So, is this Snake? Is this what we are going to call this cat?”
Katie Beth: “Yes.”
Karen: “We are going to call this cat ‘Snake'”.
Katie Beth: “Yeah.”
Karen: “Because, you got what you asked for.”
Katie Beth: “uh, ah.”
This went on for a bit, but you get the idea. So, our tabby is called “Snake.”
