Happy Blue Cat Day!

One chilly morning in January, two tabby cats laid in the warm sunshine coming from a large deck window.  Fuzz looked up at the ceiling, his round belly turned up. He licked his orange fur again and again until it was perfectly straightened and clean.

He perched himself on a dining room chair trying to collect his cat thoughts for a few moments.  His favorite toddler Lily came charging out from the living room demanding his attention.  Lily stood with her arms wide apart and her voice rang out.  "Happy Blue Cat Day", she confidently informed Fuzz.  He looked at Lily tilting his head and then lowered himself to the floor.   

Fuzz was shocked.  Blue Cat Day, why hadn't he heard of this?  He looked at his own family suspiciously.  Did his owners forget this holiday?  Did they know about it at all?  They had enjoyed both winter holidays and there was still one left!  That was it!  Now that all the holidays were over, they simply got confused and must have neglected the most important holiday of all- the holiday for cats.  He had to find out how to celebrate Blue Cat Day.

Fuzz decided something must be done about this most important turn of events.  He immediately called to order a cat meeting in the hallway.  "Mew, meow" he called his friend Cami to join him.  Fuzz lurched to his central spot near a closet door.  As President of the OCB, Official Cat Business, he made sure he had the best seat in the house.  The Official Cat Business meeting was now underway. 

The OCB position for Cami was Vice President.  She quickly leaped to her spot beside the basement door; she took her role very seriously.  Cami, a beautiful brown tabby with piercing green eyes, was fearless, lean, and delicate.  Fuzz didn't see her arrive, she just appeared. "Mew" she answered.  Cami noticed Fuzz had an urgent expression on his face.  Still, he took a moment to straighten his whiskers.  Fuzz began, "It seems our family may have forgotten a special holiday, one for us cats to celebrate."  "Hum, a special holiday now?  It's a week after New Year's!" She lowered her emerald green eyes at him.  Cami was wise, beyond her eight years.

She knew to question Fuzz as he had recently seemed bored and had been calling many meetings.  He called meetings because he was hungry.  He had meetings about how to encourage the family to pet them and give them more attention. Fuzz even had meetings because he was irritated and wanted to squabble.  "Yes! The toddler knows of a holiday today that is called Blue Cat Day", Fuzz continued.  "Blue Cat Day, are you sure? I have never heard of such a thing as a blue cat. What could Lily be talking about?"  Cami was puzzled.  "She seemed quite confident when she told me the news." Fuzz insisted.  "What could blue cat mean, Fuzz? I have met many kinds of cats. There are no blue ones." 
She knowingly licked her paw. 

"I know, that is the one part I don't understand. However, a celebration of cats makes complete sense", Fuzz insisted.  "Meow, exactly", Cami agreed.  "What do you suggest as a course of action to take?" Fuzz asked.  "You ask me, but you are President", said Cami.  "Yes, but you are the alpha cat", he replied.  "Agreed. The course of action will be to sneak around and find out what Blue Cat Day means. Then, we should question the family leaders as to their lack of involvement."  Cami was settled and happy with herself. 

The cats immediately went to their new tasks.  They saw their two family leaders in the living room.  Fuzz jumped onto a sofa and Cami sat on a bookcase.  They watched and watched as nothing happened.  Their owners sat there fixed on the television.  Suddenly, Lily came into the room toward Fuzz and again announced, "Happy Blue Cat Day".  The two family leaders laughed.  Cami gave a slight head nod of approval to Fuzz.  His story was matching up.  They drew closer to their family owners. 

Cami stared unflinching at the man, Jake.  Fuzz closed in on the woman, Natalie, also staring as he purred loudly.  "What's up guys, do you need food?" Natalie guessed.  Fuzz stopped purring and stared more fiercely than before.  "Are you two worried about Blue Cat Day?" Jake asked.  Jake and Natalie laughed.  Cami nudged Jake several times.  Fuzz purred louder.  "Happy...Blue Cat Day", exclaimed Lily.  Toddler Lily was thrilled as she got a blue crayon out of her box and began looking through her animal coloring book.  "Meow. She is making us decorations for our party", Fuzz told Cami.  Cami locked eyes with Fuzz in agreement.  "Well, I guess we could celebrate it", said Natalie. 

The cats relaxed.  All their hard work was coming to life before their eyes!  "Let me get you two some of your special food."  Natalie petted them as they argued a little over who could have the most of the tender morsel treats to eat.   They speedily licked the delicious sauce out of the dish.  They paused only to clean up the tasty spots that had splashed from the dish onto the fur of their heads and faces.  They discovered there was a celebration of cats today.  Fuzz and Cami were relieved.  They had almost lost the opportunity to celebrate being a cat.  After they had finished every last morsel, they continued to look out the window for the mysterious blue cat that made their holiday. They wondered when and if they would see one.  They spent the rest of the day getting much more attention and pettings from Jake and Natalie than usual.  Fuzz and Cami were satisfied.

What Is Calm?

Introduction:

"What Is Calm?" is a short story or collection of ideas for children of all ages and adults.  De-stress from your day and unwind as you reveal every serene moment.  Discover and picture each of these peaceful experiences.   Join and experiment by adding your own memories of what is calm.

What Is Calm?

What is calm? 

Calm is a long ocean wave that rolls, spirals, and folds.

Calm is so many deep and full breaths. 

Calm is a walk in the winding woods, crunching each soft step in rhythm.

Calm is a bright green tree swaying gently.

Calm is the surrender to sleeping outside in the fresh air of a warm day.

Calm is Grandma making herbal tea.

Calm are the butterflies fluttering in the fragrant garden.

Calm is the sweet scent of lilac and magnolia trees in full bloom.

Calm is no deadlines and a hammock swinging in a tropical breeze.

Calm is a serenade of summer frogs croaking in harmony.

Calm is Grandpa dozing off in his favorite chair.

Calm are the content birds playing hide and seek.

Calm is a gentle rain sprinkling each leaf.

Calm is a child's teddy bear.
Calm is a lullaby beckoning sleep.





Sparkle's New Home: A Children's Story

Introduction

 

This is a children's story starring Sparkle the spunky Shih Tzu puppy who is faced with a confusing dilemma. All of her belongings are missing and her owners tell her she will be moving. Join Jerry, Linda, and little Sparkle on a journey moving from their home to an apartment. Enjoy this adventure that is based on a true story.

 

Sparkle's New Home

 

Sparkle yipped as she looked through the window.  She could see the mail carrier walking toward her in a blue skirt that swished with each step.  "Arrrrf", she chirpped to her the friendly greeting.  Sparkle and the mail carrier, Kristy, were good friends and had met many times over the years.  She wagged her tail, sniffed, and pawed lightly at the door.  Kristy delivered the mail and waved at Sparkle through the window.  Sparkle was sad to see her leave.  She went back to chasing her raccoon around with her trusty friend Linda.  Inside their house, things seemed to be changing.

 

(Picture of Sparkle watching and wagging through the front window.)

 

Sparkle looked at all the neatly stacked cardboard boxes in the corner of the room.  She raced up and down the long hallway but could not find her pile of toys!  At least she still had her raccoon, squeaky ball, and bone to chew on.  There was even delicious, crunchy food in the dish.

(Picture of room with lots of boxes stacked in the corner. This shows the entrance to the hallway. Sparkle is shown with the objects mentioned here.)

Suddenly, her owner Linda scooped her up in both arms and said, "Sparkle, today you must be very brave as I know you can be! Today we are moving to our new home. I hope you like it dear, fluffy princess!"  Linda patted her head between her two feathery plumes of ears.  Her dense coat of light-gray wispy fur shifted downward as Linda hugged her.  Then it popped back up and propelled itself into place.

(Picture)

Sparkle was curiously waiting as Linda carried some boxes out of the bedroom and brought them toward the front door.  She jumped into the large window and peeked through it as Linda walked into the giant moving van.  She came back into the house.  "You're next Sparkle, sweet girl! You, me, and Jerry are the only ones missing to move to our new place."

(Picture)

She listened to Linda but was now a bit shaken from the bumpy ride in the van.  Linda brought her out of the moving van and into a large building with long, brightly carpeted hallways.  They stepped into the elevator as a friendly neighbor asked, "What floor do you need?"  "Seven, please", Linda answered.  "Well that's a cute doggie you have there. Is she friendly?" the new neighbor asked. "Yes, very!" she answered.

(Picture of the elevator scene with Jerry, Linda, Sparkle, and the neighbor.)

Linda smiled and pet Sparkle to calm her.  Sparkle was still a little nervous but wagged her tail anyway.  She zipped across the new place inspecting each room with her paws barely having time to touch the floor.  They started to unpack their cardboard boxes together.  Jerry looked up at Sparkle from his recliner and asked, "Where do you think my comfortable shoes went?" Sparkle sniffed inside an open box and nearly got her head stuck.  She dragged one brown leather shoe out of the box and all the way across the living room and dropped it at Jerry's feet.  "Good job Sparkle! We'll have everything back where it belongs soon."

(Picture)

"Sparkle, how do you like your new home?" Linda asked.  Sparkle gave a soft, "Arff".  It wasn't so bad.  The neighbors were very nice and had even pet her!  There was the raccoon by the sofa and over by the window was her squeaky ball.  There was a lot of bright sunshine coming through the window.  Sparkle jumped up to it as she squinted and saw a children's playground, beautiful trees, and a walking trail.  Her bone tasted just as delicious as it had earlier that day.  She gnawed it and tossed it on her belly as she rolled from side to side.

(Picture is in contrast to moving day scene with those objects. Sparkle is content.)

Linda and Sparkle both yawned.  They had a long moving day of loading the van, unpacking boxes, and placing many of their items back where they belonged.  Nestled in a blanket, with a giant smile from ear to ear, she curled up and began to drift off at the foot of Linda's bed.

(Picture is two pages together. Sparkle is cozy and has thought bubbles of the day's events.)