It is bewildering to be a child. Sometimes, it feels like the big people are playing with you.
They say your elbow is a “funny bone.” They always seem to say this after you hit it on the door jamb.
Then, on Thanksgiving, they tell you to play tug-o-war with your grandma over something called a “wishbone.” It’s all very confusing.
Fortunately, there are no big people at Tabby’s Place. Only children and cats. And all of the above hope you’ll join us on Saturday, 11/23, from 12-4pm.
Tabby’s Place is a safe place if you’re feeling a bit bewildered these days.
Are you a child, too? You are welcome here. You can sit cross-legged on the floor, or bury your face in a tabby belly. Tuck yourself between calicos, and let quietness be your quilt.
The truth is, we all tend to feel like little ones around here.
That works for the cats, whose self-image hovers somewhere between “Thor” and “Mother Teresa.” Regina sees no contradiction between needing our care and being sent to take care of us. Juel is a big enough individual to contain both a detailed plan for global domination and the tender heart of a grandfather.
Trent and Cora are pleased that many of us will not be eating turkey on Thanksgiving. They think vegetarianism looks pretty sharp on us. They commend our quinoa and give props to our soy-volone. They are also aware that this increases the poultry percentage available to nine-pound individuals who see Thor in the mirror.
But they would never do something so wishy-washy as to break a wishbone.
Bello has counted on his wishbone since before wishing seemed sane. Cats’ definition of sanity is as gelatinous as cranberry sauce, and wishing is always appropriate. Far more: it is mandatory.
Wishing got Bello through the cobwebs of the colony where he was born. If you think your Thanksgiving is a tureen of spicy characters, Bello can bowl you over. He and fifty-plus kin bumped knees and elbows in a single house. Their bones rattled like Chex Mix as they passed upper respiratory viruses ’round and ’round and ’round the table.
But Bello’s wishbone remained intact.
Bello was hungry enough to dream of a feast every night, and to wake with the taste of hope on his tongue.
And when the impossible day came, Bello’s eyes gleamed, as though every bone in his body said something funny at the same time.
There is nothing so holy and hilarious as the wish that comes true. “Aha! I’ve been expecting you!”
Soft hands warmed his fur. Bello realized, for the first time, why he had stripes, a road map for all the love. Bello was no baby, but children with mustaches and mortgages fed him baby food from jars of justice.
Every meal was as meaty as that poem you memorize, so you can whisper it over and over the next time you can’t sleep. Every kiss on the forehead added to Bello’s improbable hymnal.
Every day, cats like Bello, and children like you and I, prove the wishing true at Tabby’s Place.
And so, Bello wishes to formally invite you to Thanksgiving With The Cats, minus any formality. The big day is Saturday, 11/23, from 12-4 pm.
You may wear your ballgown, of course. Don your butterfly wings, or the top hat that seems a bit “too much” for the grocery store. Most of us will be paragons of comfort, shameless in Spongebob hoodies or elastic pants the color of asparagus.
We gather in this place, on this day, to feel as safe as every kitten deserves. We come together to spoon pureed poultry into cats’ giddy, greedy mouths, and to remember that the important things can never be earned.
This is the season when the bighearted can feel very, very small, so it is good to come together as children.
If you are missing someone, Thanksgiving With The Cats is for you. You may speak their name to kindred spirits and find yourself fed.
If you are dangling in some great divide, Thanksgiving With The Cats is for you. We scatter the political map like poppy seeds here, but we vote for each other, no matter what. (Pro tip: don’t bring up divisive topics, like the superiority of pate to savory shreds, in Suite E. They are still getting over Shaggy and Elton‘s debate on the legality of putting fur mice in the water bowl.)
If you are simply exhausted, Thanksgiving With The Cats is for you. You will be given a ketchup cup of aqueous poultry. You will be sent forth with a wish that the cats will accept your offering.
Two species will smile in your eyes. You will feed and be fed.
Something will tickle your funny bone.
Everything will strengthen your wishbone.
And you will still be bewildered, but you will not be alone.
Bello and I hope to see you there.