Suzy Says

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an exceptionally adorable two year old with an exceptionally wonderful mother, must be in want of a kitten.

Off they went to the local Humane Society, where the girl headed straight for the ugliest kitten there – scrawny, tiny, messy fur, “salvaged from somewhere”, as the shelter worker put it. It was love at first sight. And what did she want to name her kitten? What any two year old would: “Mine”.

When my niece was small, my sister Beth made the mistake of telling her that if she did something, she’d get a kitten. Of course, the task was completed immediately, and Beth was faced with traumatizing the kid with a lyin’ mama, or getting the promised kitten.

Off they went to their local humane society. On the way, my niece explained that her cat, Jimmy, was waiting for her there. On arrival, they roamed past the cages, with my niece calling “Jimmy, Jimmy! Here, Jimmy!” Guess who answered the call? Yes, the ugliest kitten there – to adult eyes. My niece thought he was beautiful. As she lifted him out of the cage, she told her mother, “I told you Jimmy was here.”

When my younger sis Megan was a kid, she went to camp, where she discovered a starved, stray dog, a mongrel mix beaten within an inch of his life (he actually had a broken bone over his eye, and both his back legs had been broken). She hid him in her tent and fed him until the inevitable discovery. Mutt was shipped off to the pound. Megan went crying to Dad, and told him she had found the most beautiful dog in the world and wanted to bring him home.

When they arrived at the pound (with Dad’s friend Ted in tow, who happened to be a veterinarian), the dog was tethered outside. Megan ran up to him and hugged him, saying to Dad with shining eyes, “Isn’t he beautiful?” Dad asked if she was sure this was the dog. An enthusiastic yes. He asked if she was sure that it was in fact a dog. Yes again. Ted checked him over and said other than fleas and malnutrition, he was healthy, so they took him home.

Little did Dad suspect that this funny-looking dog, Jesse, would become his beloved companion for the next 13 years, until Jesse died, an old and happy dog. Their ashes are scattered together beneath a tree, per Dad’s request. As for the kittens, they lived happily ever after, though “Mine’s” name was changed to Mia. I think children can see beauty in people, places, and things that we grown-ups can’t. If we’re lucky, they share it with us.