Ricky and Twix will gladly accept catnip bananas.
Buttery-soft blankets will not be returned to sender. (Neither will half-gallon tubs of butter.)
Feel free to send them corn dogs, cheese logs, and flounder quarter pounders.
But all they really want for Christmas is just to be fellas.
Twix and Ricky have been many things.
In under one year on Earth, they have been heroes and legends, ninjas and gladiators. They have been braver than Goonies and cooler than Indiana Jones. They have been heartwarmers and inspirations who could sell out TED talks and make Oprah cry.
They have outlasted, outwitted, and overcome the grody face of despair, and all before reaching puberty.
Now they are just ready to be fellas.
Don’t get them wrong. It’s fun to be an icon. When people look up to you, you get to change the world. When people have to sit on the floor to look up to you, you get extra squeeze-tuna.
And what kitten doesn’t enjoy a taste of fame?
Ricky could sell the rights to his story. (He promises to donate a percentage back to Tabby’s Place. Gotta remember the little people.) Scorcese and Spielberg would duel for the chance to tell the tale of the kitten who left death dog-paddling in the Atlantic.
The script writes itself: Born in a Beirut war zone, reborn in New Jersey … injuries fractured his spine, but not his backbone. Don’t miss the major motion picture, “Rick the Rock,” starring The Rock.
It’s almost enough to make you forget that Ricky isn’t a rock.
He’s a kitten.
And he doesn’t want to be a rock star. He wants to be one of the fellas.
That is, as long as Twix gets to be his fellow fella. Ricky and Twix are not formally siblings, but that does not stop them from being brothers.
Twix came from Beirut, too. He is a brighter color than life itself, but darkness came early. The angels of Animals Lebanon found him barely breathing in the middle of the road, with both hips broken.
No “fun-sized” kitten should have to be so serious. But Twix had sweetness inside and out. Mercy melted his misery. Forces stronger than caramel mended his wounds.
He took the same flight as Ricky. The survivors have been soaring ever since, even when they are snoozing in each other’s arms.
Neither of these strong, valiant kittens “should” be here.
But love snickers at logic in every time zone.
And now, it is time for two inspirations to just be fellas.
Ricky does not need to be a boulder anymore. It is a full-time job being a pillar of strength, and Ricky is not even old enough to work at Chipotle.
But with pain in the rearview, he can hit the gas on his goofball era. He does not want to be a symbol of courage. He wants to be a giggly, wiggly guy.
He does not want to sit on a pedestal. He wants to play battle-patty-cake with Twix on the top of a cat tower.
Twix is also ready to be a regular fella. He accomplished a lifetime of achievements before he was the size of a sweat sock. Perseverance makes for a good movie, but greatness lives inside plain days.
Twix wants to be life-sized again, small enough for sunbeams and salmon nuggets. He has had his quota of courage. Now begins the ecstasy of the ordinary.
Life made Twix and Ricky warriors, this is true.
But love made them fellas again.
This is all because of you, Tabby’s Place family.
What greater gift than to treasure your everyday life?
Have yourself a gentle little Christmas.
All photos courtesy of the fellas’ amazing foster Mom, Tiff.