The Ellen Show was on and she read this submission
to a contest from a viewer:
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 cereal 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 these
glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize
they've been using your chapstick on the cat's butt.
