Heavy Christmases

For a while Christmases have not always felt the same. I remember Christmas of 1996. The first Christmas I had to face without my mom was by far the toughest Christmas I have ever gone through. My whole family struggled, and none of us truly felt like celebrating. Christmases after that sometimes were filled with happiness, and other times, they were filled with sorrow. Christmas 2021 was a difficult one again after the passing of my sister Angie. I struggled. The one person who really saw the funny side of things in life with me was gone. Oh my gosh we could screech with laughter at the most silliest things ever! We have/had the craziest sense of humour. Then Christmas 2024 without my cat Lucy. I had to put her down April 2024 as she had ear cancer. She was only 8 years old. I tell you what. People think I'm nuts when I tell them she was the daughter I never had!! I have had many pets but there was something about Lucy that was truly special. The bond we had was incredible. I struggled horrendously not having her around. I know she is with me in spirit and we will one day be together again. It took me months to shake the grief. I have noticed that my love for Christmas has now returned. In truth, it is a way for me to remember all the traditions my Mom started and how much she loved the holiday herself. Once I started reflecting on this, it helped me to know that I can enjoy Christmas again. It is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. By celebrating Christ, it helps bring our hearts back to the true meaning of Christmas. It is because of Him that my Mom, Angie and Lucy and other passed loved ones live in Heaven, and it is because of Him that we will live in Heaven with Him too. We have everything to thank the Lord for, yet we often forget these things when times are hard. This year Christmas will be shared with a new addition to my family. Another fur child! Not something I signed up for. I had no intention of getting another pet. I was happy to just have Benji (Lucy's brother) but the Universe had other plans for Benji and I. Two months ago I kept seeing this cat coming to visit Benji. What was interesting was that Benji did not attack this cat. I thought it was good that Benji had a friend as I know he misses Lucy terribly. I never really paid more attention to this cat as I thought it belonged to someone here. Then on the 25th of November 2025 (a Tuesday) this video cropped up on my IG feed of a cute black and white kitten pulling a funny face. I thought "wow, it looks like Benji's friend". The next day this cat was in my garden and it started to rain. It was when the cat jumped on the wall that I noticed it's looking horribly thin. I quickly took a photo and posted it on the whatsapp group for the complex asking if anyone knew who the cat belonged to. No one came forward. The chairperson of our complex said the cat has been roaming our complex and neighbouring complexes for some months and no one could catch it. I decided to start feeding the cat. I had the opportunity on the Friday morning when I saw him in the complex. The poor cat was so hungry! I eventually lured him closer and closer to my unit at a set time. Amazing how he knew when to come for food. Then the next week we had a major storm. It was really frightening! It broke my heart that this cat was out there in that storm. Well, I couldn't believe my eyes. After the storm this cat came onto my patio, drenched and shivering and he was skin and bones! I quickly fed him and I had put a cat bed on one of the patio chairs in the event he did come round at night. He ate, jumped onto the bed and snuggled into a blanket. He looked up at me and could not even keep his eyes open from sheer exhaustion and relief he had a warm bed. It was like he said "thank you for taking care of me". It was freezing cold and I could not leave him on the patio. I lured him into the house with food and put him in the room I use as a dining room. Made a bed for him and the journey began. It has not been an easy one. I named the cat Billy. He did not at first know about a litter box. He peed everywhere and being a tom cat was spraying everywhere. I honestly at one point thought I cannot do this. He also did not allow me to touch him. He did not know, still doesn't know what toys are. He started trusting me more. By murphy's law a few days later there was a vaccination and sterilisation event just down the road from me. Divinely orchestrated? I took Billy to be neutered, vaccinated, dewormed and microchipped. From the time I brought him into the house he was in the house for 4 days and then another 5 for him to recover from the neutering. I eventually let him out last Friday. I was not sure I would see him again but he randomly popped in during the day to say "Hello"...and yes he literally says hello!! It is so funny! In the late afternoon I went to call him to come eat and to bring him indoors. He came when I called him. I keep my cats indoors at night. I am now training him to be indoors at night and during the day he can play outside. The transformation has been truly incredible and I'm glad I did not give up on him. He still sprays every now and then but that is another training thing to get through. Now that he is neutered it does not have that putrid stench anymore! He now knows this is his home. He eats like a horse and has gained some nice weight! It is an ongoing journey. Oh, and to end off. Billy did have an owner but a few months ago his owner committed suicide. The owner's girlfriend took Billy but he escaped from her and somehow found his way back here to look for his owner. She never bothered to report him missing. I guess he was hard work for her. She (the girlfriend) must have got Billy to try cheer up her boyfriend. The sad thing is this guy's mother had also committed suicide a few months before. He could not handle her death and became depressed and took his own life. Billy clearly was not given the love and attention he needed then as a kitten and has had to fend for himself for so many months. Apparently he was already malnourished when his owner passed away. And that is how I ended up with Billy. 

The chairperson is absolutely stunned at how I have made so much progress with Billy. It certainly has been hard work but I do not regret it. An interesting journey awaits from here on.

My Holy Water

 Wow! What a beautiful song!! First time I heard it on the radio. I've started listening to Hot 1027 because I'm just so over 94.7 and Jacaranda and all the frigging ads. This station only plays "old school" music mostly from the 80's and every now and then a song that sadly never made it to the charts...such a pleasure from the screaming crap that has now become music!