Dear Kelleen and John, and everybody else who's lost a loved fuzzy:
 
Well, It's Christmas afternoon.  Paw Paw and Mee Maw, the cats and I are
sitting back and enjoying the mess that we made this morning when we opened
our presents.  It wasn't a very big Christmas this year; there wasn't much
money to spend since Paw Paw's been sick and Mee Maw's business is still
stuggling to get off the ground.  Even so, there sure is a lot of wrapping
paper scattered all over the living room.  Kelleen sent me some really nice
things to unwrap and play with; Paw Paw and Mee Maw got a little bit crazy
and wrapped up just about everything in sight for each other.  I especially
enjoyed the old bag of Easter grass that Paw Paw gave to Mee Maw - all
wrapped up, with a pretty bow and all, and a tag saying that it was from the
Easter Bunny.
 
Anyway, we're all feeling kinda relaxed and mellow.  I'm all tuckered out
from playing with all the neat stuff I got, old Vincent is putting the
finishing licking on Mee Maw's plate of turkey and dressing, Thor is running
around the room and acting like his crazy ol' self, Paw Paw's sitting on the
sofa, looking mellow, and drinking white wine from his favorite cracked
coffee cup - for medicinal purposes, of course.  Well I came up with the
idea to check the pooter and see if a Ferret Mail came in this morning.  Paw
Paw said that BIG probably took the day off since it's Christmas, but I
could go ahead and check it out - I'm glad that I did.  I think that BIG
must be a description of Bill Gruber's heart - he loves us fuzzies, and
their people, enough to send out a Ferret Mail on Christmas morning!
[Moderator's note: Well, the ferrets don't take the day off either... BIG]
 
Gosh, Kelleen, I'm so sorry that your'e sad today.  You are such a nice lady
that it really hurts my little heart to know that you are so unhappy on
Christmas.  And John, my heart reaches out to you too.  I know how much you
loved Buddy.  I'm really going to miss him, and Racy - and all the other
fuzzies who have taken their final walk across that 'Rainbow Bridge'.  Maybe
if I share what happened to Paw Paw and me last night, it might cheer both
of you up a little.
 
It was really cold last night.  Paw Paw and I were sitting on the front
porch and I curled up around his neck, trying to keep him warm.  We were
looking at Serenity, the white pine that grows in our front yard.  Paw Paw
planted it there many years ago - after it had been a Christmas tree in the
house.  Last year, on Christamas Eve, while Mee Maw was gone to church, Paw
Paw and his oldest son, Danny, cleaned out every last string of lights that
the Big B store had, and hung them on Serenity.  Mee Maw cried when she came
home and saw the forty foot tree, shining like a beacon of Christmas joy in
the night.
 
Well, last night, Paw Paw and I sat and watched the lights on Serenity as
they brightened and sparkled with the coming of night.  Mee Maw had gone to
church to sing in the choir again.  Paw Paw and I were in church too,
sitting there on the porch, enjoying each other's love, enjoying the beauty
of Serenity.
 
Paw Paw sniffed, gave me a loving rub on the tummy, and said, "You know,
little guy, that tree is a lot like you and me.  It wasn't much when Mee Maw
and I first saw it.  It was kinda small and scraggly - but it had
posilbilities.  You should've seen it that first year, after Mee Maw was
done decorating it - it was the most beautiuful Christmas tree we've ever
had.  And just look at him now, over forty feet tall, bursting with lights -
lights that rival even the stars in the sky."
 
I thought that Paw Paw was going to cry then. Maybe he did.
 
"Little guy, do you know what all the lights are for?"
 
I admitted that I didn't, but I had a feeling that Paw Paw was about to
share something really special with me.
 
"Tater, my pal, every one of those lights on the tree - and the stars that
they meld into - represents a hope, a life, an undreamed dream, a cherished
memory - someone we've loved.  I see the lights for Isis, for Valentine,
Mindy and Booger.  They're still with us, little guy.  Just look at their
lights, shining proudly in the night.  They've all moved on to a better
place than you and I know right now, but they've left us the light of their
memories, until we can join them again.  They aren't gone, they are just
waiting for us; and, because of Christmas, we know that we'll be together
again."
 
With a shaky paw, I wiped the tears which were now streaming from my eyes.
I saw the lights of Racy and Buddy - and so many more - beckoning and
shining in the nightime sky.  I licked a tear from Paw Paw's cheek as I
discovered the true meaning of Christmas, and of life.
 
With love to all, I am,
 
Tater
[Posted in FML issue 1424]