Blessings of a Child's Animal

At the risk of sounding cheesy and even melodramatic, I have to write about something that has just made me feel so happy. I should preface this with reminding you how much I love animals. For those of you who don't, just keep in mind while you read that we all feel passionately about certain things in our lives. So here we go. When I was a small child, my cats gave me such an enormous feeling of joy-- whether we were hiding together outside in the bushes, or my cat was vying for my attention by lying on the book I was trying to read, or my cat perched on my chest to purr whenever I was feeling sad-- I'd actually physically feel a tickle in my stomach that would rise up in my throat and turn into a laugh. I remember wondering if I'd always feel that way about animals, even after I'd grown up. I was sad to note during the years of growing up that the older I got, the less and less I experienced that joyous tickle. Perhaps it was a child's great need of the companionship that only a devoted pet can offer that gave me such a reaction, for I certainly never have tired of animals and I find that their presence in my life continues to bring with it blessings of every kind... however, that specific feeling has become extremely rare and one I started to attribute to a happy childhood... and in fact it has been so long since I've felt it I had almost forgotten completely about it... until tonight.

Of late, Sebastian has claimed Alex his bed partner and sleeps cuddled at her feet every single night. As we ready the girls for bedtime, Sebastian walks in with this expression of "Is it bedtime yet, Alex? Hurry up, we don't want to miss a single minute!" and he jumps onto her bed and looks at her expectantly. Alex giggles and when I hear it catch in her throat a wave of nostalgia brings back the most delightful feelings and memories. She can't wait to say prayers so she can hop in bed with Sebastian and be purred to sleep by his lullaby. He stays with her all night long, sometimes sleeping, sometimes purring, and she sleeps happily and soundly. I just went in to check on her and he's there, cuddled up to her legs, moving at times to accommodate her movements. I see how much this snobby beast loves my little girl and how he finds fulfillment in taking care of her and as I watched them just now I realized, as that old tickle rose up into a silent laugh, the origination of that joyous childhood feeling was the knowledge that another living creature loved me, his little human, with a single-minded devotedness and found complete joy and fulfillment therein... and that is what I felt (was sensitive to) as a child, and what my own precious child is starting to feel now and THAT gives me an even greater feeling of joy somehow than I felt as a child myself. This was a precious gift for me tonight. An absolute treasure.