by Joyce DiPastena
I have a link on my Yahoo homepage called “The Daily Kitten”, where they post a “new kitten every day…at 3:07 pm”. Being a cat lover, I’ve been following this daily link for several years. People from all over the world post pictures of their kittens (always adorable, of course…is there any other kind?), along with a short commentary that shares how the kitten became part of their family or something unique about their kitten. They may look identical on the outside at times, but like snowflakes, it quickly becomes clear, as their “people” share their personality quirks, that no two kittens are truly alike.What touches me the most is how each of these short commentaries invariably ends with some form of the following statement: “He is still my baby boy and the love of our lives!!” “He has just made our home happier.” “They bring us hours of enjoyment.” “We love her so much!”
I’m sure that somewhere on the internet is a similar website for puppies. Just last Sunday, I visited a woman in our ward and observed her joy in a new dog her married daughter had recently given to her and her husband. Even I, the cat lover, came home with memories of the dog, repeating over and over, “What a doll! What a doll!”
I have two cats of my own, no longer kittens, but I still echo the words above from the Daily Kitten. “He is still my baby boy!” “He has made my home happier.” “They bring me hours of enjoyment.” “I love her so much!” And I never let a morning or nightly prayer pass, that I don’t thank my Heavenly Father for the gift of their love and comfort and for the joy they bring into my life every day.
Yesterday morning, on Music and the Spoken Word, I listened to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small.
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
All creatures great and small.
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
How grateful I am that among these creatures, “great and small”, He has graced our human lives with the opportunity to live in loving companionship with some of his “bright and beautiful” creations!
Oh Joyce I can so relate. I have doggies and they are so wonderful for me. I love sharing my stories with other dog lovers.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: "All Things Bright and Beautiful" was actually the organ solo on Sunday. Apparently, I sang the words so hard in my head while I listened, that by the time I sat down to type this many hours later, I'd convinced myself that the entire choir had sung the number. I apologize for my mistake.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder of where our lovely pet/members of the family are sent here to us from. We have an Australian Shepherd, a Cocker Spaniel, and two persian cats. My daughter is getting married in four weeks, and is home from BYU to get ready, so we have her persian cat and her new miniature pug puppy right now as well. With my five children and their friends, we are surrounded by so much fun commotion, and laugh fests, and the animals are usually a big part of it. How wonderful they are! Thanks, Cindy R. Williams
ReplyDeleteI'm not one of those pet owners who actually show off pictures of my pet and talk about them as if they were my children, I guess because I talk about my actual chidren, but I love animals too. They give a lot of joy and my cat got me through several consecutive moves when I was a child. There are few things more soothing than petting a purring cat.
ReplyDeletePets truly can bring comfort. On many rough days after school my teenager settled down with our cat at the time, who seemed to sense when she needed him. Our dog & two cats now have us laughing every day over their antics.
ReplyDeleteLove your post...love the hymn. I have always loved animals...and in the past 6 months, 2 new pets have come into our lives. WE now have a parakeet, a cockatoo, a Brittany spaniel and a little Maltese. I once caught and took home a stray horse as a little girl and coudn't get enough of the All Creatures Great and Small series of books.
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