One Hundred Twenty-Three
We were busy that morning. With the dripping rain throughout the night and still going, we stayed inside. Started things off with devotions. Puck seemed to have other ideas during the reading though…
“Why is there such a big wall of China?” he interrupted.
We try.
Ordered a clip-on bed lamp for Puck’s bunk with his Target monster gift card from Martha. Organized his toys and knick-knacks in rounds. Read more Garfield. Of course. Started “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”. Snacked on jumbo pretzel sticks, also from his birthday. Well, Puck did. He had Legos on the top bunk, too. Just like a rainy day…
“Mom!” Puck grinned down at me from his top bunk and held a finger in the air. “I think I know what Onion it going to give me to let Crackers play outside!”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“Medicine!”
I’ve been telling Puck ever since last summer that Crackers won’t be an outdoor kitty. Outdoor cats have more problems, eat things they shouldn’t, more vet appointments, more treatments and medicines. So when Rose told him that his big birthday present coming in the mail would allow Crackers to play outside, he jumped to a highly logical conclusion.
We continued our reading, Puck on the bunk, me in the gliding lemon yellow rocker. Puck always has questions…
“Mom?”
“Yes, Puck?”
“Was Goliath taller than trees?”
“Well, maybe some.”
“Little ones?”
“Sure. Some little ones.”
“Could he just STOMP them?”
“Well…”
“Why did Goliath get so big?”
“God made him that way.”
“Why?”
“Because it showed God’s glory.”
Puck thought a moment, missing the point I hadn’t made so clearly…
“I think God created him, but it didn’t work out so well, because he didn’t like God, right?”
In the steady flood, The Bear’s umbrella arrived in the mail. A long-awaited purchase. I’m not certain we had ever personally owned an umbrella up until that moment. Except for Puck’s Buzz Light Year version from Mom and Dad. And there were paper airplanes to fold out of the activity book from Uncle Claus and Aunt Agnes…
“I just love paper airplanes… they obey… they don’t eat your food… And you can unfold them and write on the back of the paper that they got made of…”
Some old Disney cartoon shorts at dinner – soup and rolls – Crackers watching, too, from the box that brought the umbrella, lined with crinkly brown paper.
Puck rounded out his evening with a bedtime prayer, barely able to contain his excitement that Crackers had already squirreled herself down under the covers…
“…And thank you for a beloved cat…”
My squishy little-big guy with the best dimples.
