The cat brought the tree down, of course. I wasn't in the room so I don't know what he did, but I don't think he'll ever do it again.
So yes, I was foolish to put the glass ornaments on the tree, but look on the bright side: most of them broke so now I don't have to worry about them breaking. Also, fewer ornaments to put up after Christmas.
Some of the ornaments that broke were very old, but some of the oldest ornaments came through without a scratch, like the porcelain bells that belonged to my great-grandmother* (and which I have moved to the mantel now). I guess they've been through toddlers, dogs, and cats before. Likewise, the tree is fine. It's made of wood and aluminum so it's pretty much indestructible unless you actually set it on fire. And I hid the matches so Jekyll couldn't do that.
The clean-up was not fun, especially since I was sobbing hysterically. I mean come on, who wouldn't? But as I swept and mopped and mopped again to get all the glass up, I contemplated the ephemeral nature of Christmas and glass ornaments, and reminded myself that it's just stuff. If the whole house had burnt down (it won't; I hid the matches, remember?) it would still be just stuff I'd lost. The memories live inside me.
It still wasn't any fun to clean up. But the floor is really clean now. And the tree is up again, although I need to do a better job distributing the remaining ornaments because it's kind of lopsided. Also, I will have to get the boxes of ornaments out of the garage again because there were a lot of them that wouldn't fit on my little tree, and now they will.
10 comments:
Sorry to hear what happened to your tree. What a naughty Kitty.
It is sad when things get broken, but as you say you still have your memories.
Best wishes my dear
Thanks! I'm mostly just glad the cat wasn't hurt. I checked his paws to make sure he didn't have any glass in them.
Maybe I'm a little weird, but I find this kind of thing just makes cats even more endearing. Like the time my cat ran over a freshly painted floor into the house...
'YOU LITTLE BASTA-aww!!! C'mere! Aww!! Look at your little footprints! Squee!'
Awww, little kitty footprints! That is cute. If Jekyll had helped clean up (like, holding the dustpan for me or something), I wouldn't have been quite as upset.
Well okay, yes I would have.
Four years ago my kids made a huge mess in the basement: they had found dozens of cans of tempera paint, and they had a little war. By the time I found out about it, the paint had settled into the concrete floor, on the walls, and on the unfinished wooden stairs that lead up to the kitchen.
Today, at the foot of those stairs, one can still see tiny red footprints from the then-three-year-old as he tracked the paint up the stairs to go report on his older brother. :)
Awwwww, tiny kiddy footprints are even cuter than kitty footprints, if that's possible.
At least it was tempura paint and not enamel.
Evidence of feline mind control. Cat destroys nice thing; your comment: glad the cat wasn't hurt. Embrace the servitude!
OMG You're right! I'm on to him oh look he's so cute and fuzzy with just the tip of his tongue sticking out while he watches me type....
I don't even bother with a tree anymore now that Madeline is grown. It would pretty much just be a tree full of cats, anyway.
Subscription saga, part two: I noticed that while I AM subscribed through Google Reader, I still don't come up as a follower on Friend Connect. Not that it matters, I just don't get why that won't take. Weird.
I may not put one up next year. It's an awful lot of bother and I'm never around to see it (and of course the cat will probably knock it over again).
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