Hooray for the Holidays
By Kali and Mateo
The dogs usually write most of these posts, but today we’re taking over to tell you why we love the holidays. While we're sad that our parents moved our catio to its “winter location” under the deck so the snow doesn’t destroy it, we're happy about some of the other things that happen in December. It’s too cold to go outside anyway.
The weather has finally turned cold enough that our parents are starting to use the wood stove. The new wood stove has tall enough legs that we can sprawl out beneath it for maximum warmth. This week has been too warm outside, but the fire was burning almost all of last week when we got our first real snow of the season. It’s so cozy downstairs with the fire going. Sometimes Tessie joins us, too. She likes to look through the glass on the front door at the flames. She also tries to get as close as possible, but the only part of her that fits under the stove is her head.
The other great thing about the holidays is that the Christmas trees go up – the big one in the living room and a small one in the bedroom. Last year, our parents didn’t put up the trees, so we’re making up for lost time this season. We love batting at the ornaments and chewing on the strings of lights. Mom had to splice some wires on the big tree this year after Kali chewed through one. Dad is worried this might be the last year for this pre-lit fake tree that Mom bought years ago for her first Christmas in our house in Broomfield. We can’t believe it’s lasted this long. That was nearly 20 years ago! We wish it were a real tree we could climb, but that’s exactly why our parents stick with the fake one. We like hanging out underneath it and trying to open the gifts.
Work slows down a little for our parents this time of year, giving them more time to play with us, which really helps with our cabin fever. As we do every year, we’ll get some new toys to open on Christmas. A new shoelace for Kali to replace the one she’s starting to shred, and a new mouse or fuzzy ball for Mateo, since he tends to lose at least one during the year.
The holidays are about spending time with family and enjoying everyone’s joyful spirit. We were sad last year because our parents went on a big trip over Christmas and New Year's, but this year they are staying in Colorado, so we’ll have plenty of time to sit on their laps and watch holiday movies. Hopefully, there are more movies and fewer jigsaw puzzles, because when they puzzle, it’s hard to get in their laps. It truly is the best time of the year! What’s your favorite holiday tradition?