Mothers Day, Hi-Jinks & Hallmark

Happy Mothers Day to all you Moms out there. I couldn't make it to my Moms today, but at least called her. I have heard that Mothers Day is the most busiest day of the year for the quasi - Baby Bells. Hallmark also reaps in a good bit of moolah. I went down to the Hallmark store in Aldan today and bought my Mom one of the few remaining cards. It was one of those funny ones. I hope she likes it when I give it to her tomorrow. I also bought a figurine of two kittens in a bag. Now I used to love cats as a kid. I especially loved my grey striped tabby, Jinks. This cat was more like a dog, not afraid of water and always snuggled up to me at night. In August of 1973, Me and my Sister and Mom went to visit her relations in Boyle, Co. Roscommon. We were there for 3 weeks and toured Europe. When we got back, the first thing that I expected was to be greeted by Jinks. Pixie and Snowball were sitting around, eating as usual, but no Jinks. I asked my Dad: Where was Jinks? He said he had not seen him in since the day before, and when he did Jinks was meowing all the time, panting like it had rabies. I was in a panic, my heart racing. I went out back and called to him to no avail. I cried myself to sleep, wondering just where my friend was. The answer came the next morning. A neighborhood friend George had helped me look for jinks along with my sister and my friends Pete & Spiro. George had looked under a shrub in our neighbors yard and spied Jinks. He was dead. I did not know what to do. I grasped my friend Jinks and cradled him in my arms sobbing. After about 30 minutes of crying and screaming and cursing , George took my cat away from me and buried him in my back yard. I made a cross with his name and birth/died date type of thing, then went in my house. For weeks I would look out my bedroom window at night at the grave, remembering all the wonderful times that I had with my cat. I also found out years later that Mr. Kettlewood, a jerk off neighbor four doors up from us, had poisoned my cat because it was digging in his flower bed. (I took my revenge by shooting out his back windows one night). As I got older, Snowball and Pixie (Jink's sister,) died. Other cats and my beloved black lab "Lady" would also come & go. But Jinks to me was special. A one of a kind cat who acted more human than feline. Back to all you Moms out there. What you go through is nothing short of amazing. To put up with your children and husbands and boy friends all wanting your attention 24/7 is indeed worthy of a day set aside for you. Just how did you spend your day? Did you get breakfast in bed? A full body massage? Taken out to dinner? Dishes done by someone other than you? Given a membership to Curves or Hollywood Tans? All of the above are pretty nice things to do for a Mother, weather she is your own or the mother of your children. Me? I told my wife that you she is special and loved and appreciated, and a hell of a woman to put up with four boys, (Me being one of them!) Plus, I gave her a hundred bucks. Happy Mothers Day :-)