Your consistent lobbying paid off. We finally got a kitten.
You give and get plenty of love from Greta, but you’ve focused so much of your attention and energy toward kittens these past months. Eliza has had her heart in the same place. Both of you pretend to be kittens and like to draw kittens. You pled for kittens in key documents like Christmas and birthday lists. Your Mom and I tried the classic parenting move of just giving you stuffed kittens on special occassions. You’d play with them a short time but could never wear off the need for the real thing and return to highlighting the family deficit.
A trip up to Bellingham a couple of months ago sealed the deal and sold your Mom and me on the idea.
Luna Snowball was born on Black Friday (also known as OptOutside day in this household) at Aunt Nina’s friend’s house, who we went to visit shortly thereafter. The pack of baby kittens was overwhelming for you and Eliza. You couldn’t stop swooning and making “awww!” sounds for the duration of the visit. They had sharp claws and hung on our puffy jackets, which I didn’t love (hello, down leakage), but as an animal person I had little defense. Awww!
We tried to surprise you on a trip back up to Bellingham to pick up Luna but, like so many things, we were thwarted by COVID-19, which Aunt Nina contracted. We think Winnie did too as she had a high fever. Of course, we learned all of this when we had already made the two hour drive to Bellingham. Instead of going to see your cousins for a long weekend and enjoy the big unveiling with everyone around, we called an audible to make the roundtrip and return that night.
You and Eliza thought the trip was just about a sleepover with cousins, which caused confusion about why we came all the way up to Bellingham just to turn around. We had to lead you on to keep the peace, so we went to a restaurant for dinner and let you know we had a big surprise. Eliza loves guessing suprises and demanded clues. As we had seen Pets 2 the night before, we went down that rabbit hole of exhaustive hints for about three hours, testing my recall of the movie. They were good clues like, “This is going to be pawesome,” “We should get going meow” and “Think about it, kids: Pets.” But you never guessed that you were getting a kitten. You two are very smart, just not so smart about the obvious.
After all of the guessing games at dinner, your Mom dropped the three of us off at Whole Foods to grab dessert while she picked up Luna. Then we met next door at Mud Bay for the big surprise. It took you both a moment to realize that you were getting more than just a kitten visit. I caught the moment on video when you got hit by the realization: “Oh my gosh, we get the kitten forever?!”
We hit the road and Luna proceeded to cry for a solid, painful 30-minutes in her cat carrier until your Mom succumbed to hold the kitten on her lap.
The past couple of weeks have been a lot of fun raising the kitten. She is a great fit for the family as she has her moments being totally wild but can as easily settle down easily for a cuddle on the couch. Luna and Greta were at odds the first few days, with Luna standing up to her new archrival for attention. After the first stand-offs, they’ve found some peace and can now cohabitate the same room. So far, we’ve kept the furniture scratching to a minimum, and I intend to keep it that way.
You are obsessed with Luna, and most of the parental work is asking you to leave the cat alone so it can breathe and walk around on its own. I only yelled at you once when you pretended the cat was a roadrunner and were carrying her by her arms. Her own screaming should have stopped you that time. Otherwise, you’re mostly busy cuddling her while watching a show or building Magna-Tiles and cardboard forts for her to play in. You’ve also suggested that maybe Luna should be just your pet and Eliza could get her own pet or just take Greta. Nice try.
I was the last stand against getting a kitten but have to admit, with her chilling on my lap as I type, that it was a good idea afterall. I only hope you love me as much as you love this cat.
Love,
Dad