Ode to the Girls

Jackie Wells-Fauth

Most people are aware that I have three grandsons, but I bet those same people are not aware that I appear to have two granddaughters as well.

I say I appear to have two granddaughters because at the beginning, I was not aware that this was the case. In the beginning I thought my younger daughter and her husband had acquired a couple of cats and I must admit that is exactly how I regarded them.

But in Tracie and Charles’ house, these cats, two girls named Haru and Mako, are most definitely the grandchildren of that branch of the family. The “girls” as we call them, are adopted children, joining the family one after the other. They are like most siblings in that they get along sometimes and sometimes they don’t.

I didn’t give them a lot of serious thought, however, as I entered my years as a grandmother. I know I was grandmother to Royce and then Arthur and then Emmett, but it never occurred to me that I was also grandmother to others.

It is my custom when on vacation, to send postcards back to the boys, to let them know we are thinking of them. On returning from a vacation, we were discussing the postcards the boys had received, when I was brought up short by my son-in-law, Charles. Keeping a most solemn face, he said to me, “The girls didn’t get any postcards.”

How silly! To think I would be expected to send postcards to a couple of cats, one of whom hides herself when “Grandma and Grandpa” are visiting and the other who guards her resting spot on her cat tree with a swift hiss and a set of fine claws. The girls wanted a postcard?

Okay, I went home, picked a couple of postcards from the local drugstore in Miller, filled them out (“Having a wonderful time here in Miller, wish you were here,”)  and sent them to “the girls.” The proud parents were happy. They took the postcards, taped them to the cat tree and photographed the girls with them. While “Mom” and “Dad” were satisfied with the postcards, the looks on the cats’ faces were more expressive of boredom or indifference. However, I was assured that the girls were thrilled and everything was good.

The following vacation, I simply bought five postcards and filled them out. I didn’t allow “Cat Grandpa” to fill the girls’ out because he thought it would be funny to give them a picture of a coyote and tell them it would eat them, or a picture of a panther and tell them that was their real mother and they had been kidnapped at birth. I don’t know if they would have been traumatized by it, but I’m pretty sure Mom and Dad would.

This last Christmas I bought inexpensive Christmas music boxes for “the boys” and Tracie got that same serious look on her face and said, “The girls like music.” Okay, that’s ridiculous. Are you telling me those cats love music so much they would like a music box? What, do they go out and carol to the neighbors at Christmas?

So, I bought another Christmas music box, knowing the girls wouldn’t care. And you know what? They liked it. They didn’t break into Christmas carols, but both showed great feline interest in the music box.

Okay, I give up. I have become grandmother to two cats. However, that will be where I draw the line: three boys and two cats. When I saw my older daughter Stefanie’s dog, sniffing around the music boxes, I set her straight at once. “Oh no, poochie, I may have two cats in line to inherit the family silver, but I draw the line at dogs. Enjoy your doggie treat and be happy.” You have to be firm with these four-footed family members!