OT: Winning entry for mother's day contest (fwd)

[theteach <theteach@theteachonline.net>]

I think the contest was on MSN.  This was sent to me by a friend

"Why my lips stayed chapped on Mother's Day"

So, we had this great cat named Jack and the kids would carry him around 
and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on 
this mat in our bathroom.

Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 
years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves 
chapstick.

LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it. So 
finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and 
how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right 
back in the drawer when he was done.

Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try 
to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys 
are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my 
little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a 
mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor 
me and the amazing job that is motherhood.

We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I am 
looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner 
to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my chapstick 
very carefully to Jack's . . . rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and 
said "chapped." Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right--their 
little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to 
mind.

And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the 
1st time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth.

And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us 
that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little 
creatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been 
using your chapstick on the cat's butt.

*****

I thought the kid's effort to help the cat were rather civilized. :)

alex