M and the cat
conveyed at the request of dusty chenille... :)
this is the long version. I'm combining with my M birthday present story.
my son's 8th birthday was last month. he is a video game fiend. f.i.e.n.d. His Game Cube bit the dust the week before his bday and he sat in the middle of his floor and cried. he's been wanting a Wii game system, but those damn things are almost impossible to get. you can get them online, just the console for about $350, which is out of the question for me, as a single mother getting almost no child suppoert and paying a mortgage. And I'm still playing catch up from being unemployed this summer.
If you can put your hands on one at circuit city or best buy, it's only $250, and there's a game included. With my Dad's help, that is a do-able thing. But like I said, they are almost impossible to get- limited quantity. So I had been calling the CC and BB every week, for awhile and asking. I am not a grudge-holder, so I always called Circuit City first, and invariable got ruder and ruder people answering the phone. Two days before his birthday, i made my regular call, and got the usual answer from Circuit "I dunno when the truck's coming in, i have no idea. besides, those things are almost impossible to get..." Then i called Best Buy.. "Um, i don't think we have any...but let me check...oh... oh my gosh, there's one left..." I said, 'are you sure?" "Um, yes, i have one."
At that point I resorted to begging. I asked him if there was any way he could hold it for me. I said i worked right down the road and I'm getting in the car and coming right now and could he please please hang on to it for me? He said he wasn't supposed to do that but that he'd hide it for me and his name was Chad and to come find him. So I raced out of work and down Broad St. Went in the store and found a pony tail guy who looked ike his name might be Chad. It was. He glanced furtively around, then reached under a display and pulled out the coveted item. As i was thanking him profusely, others in the store spotted what I was holding and came over..."hey, hey! you got any more of those??" CHad straightened up and said, "oh no, she had a raincheck for that. It's the only one, sorry." Once the crowd dispersed, he said, "sorry I had to tell a little lie there... but those things are almost impossible to get..." I told him not to worry about it. Now that's service. I felt like I was going to get mugged on the way to my car with it...
Flash forward. A couple days past his birthday, and delighted 8 year old boy is happily playing his new console. Between various friends and relatives, he has ammassed a good amount of birthday cash and has been contemplating what to spend it on. he has about $90, and decided he wanted me to take him to Target and Game Stop on that friday, and he would buy some games and/or accessories he'd been wanting. He spent the entire week before badgering me about when I was going to take him, and thinking out loud which games, etc etc.
So the day of the big shopping trip, I asked him where he wanted to go first. he hesitated for a second, then asked, 'mom, how much did Mattie cost?" (Mattie is my little grey cat) I explained that Mattie was rescued from a shelter and that with the fees and vet stuff and this'n'that it cost about $90.
He said, 'I have that much!" "I'd rather rescue a little kitty's life, than spend my money on video games." He went on to explain further that if he could save a cat, that not only would he be saving that cat, but that it would open up a space for another needy animal at the rescue organization. He also said that he wanted something to be responsible for, and that he thought it would be good for him to learn to take some responsibility. I went for it hook line and sinker, and we went to the SPCA that afternoon. We met many, many felines and played with all shapes and sizes and colors, until one particular little black cat caught his eye.
He decided that was the cat. We had planned a beach trip that weekend, so we couldn't take her right then. He fretted all weekend that she wouldnt be there when we got back, and made me call the SPCA as soon as we were back in Richmond that sunday, to ask if she was still there. She was. We went straight over there (in our bathing suits!) and filled out all the paperwork and he handed over his money.
He's named her Jealous Livermore and it suits her very well. She sleeps in his bed, follows him around and is his his little shadow. He feeds her, carries her around, cleans her box. It' s sweet. They have really bonded, and best of all she gets on great with all the other critters.
this is the long version. I'm combining with my M birthday present story.
my son's 8th birthday was last month. he is a video game fiend. f.i.e.n.d. His Game Cube bit the dust the week before his bday and he sat in the middle of his floor and cried. he's been wanting a Wii game system, but those damn things are almost impossible to get. you can get them online, just the console for about $350, which is out of the question for me, as a single mother getting almost no child suppoert and paying a mortgage. And I'm still playing catch up from being unemployed this summer.
If you can put your hands on one at circuit city or best buy, it's only $250, and there's a game included. With my Dad's help, that is a do-able thing. But like I said, they are almost impossible to get- limited quantity. So I had been calling the CC and BB every week, for awhile and asking. I am not a grudge-holder, so I always called Circuit City first, and invariable got ruder and ruder people answering the phone. Two days before his birthday, i made my regular call, and got the usual answer from Circuit "I dunno when the truck's coming in, i have no idea. besides, those things are almost impossible to get..." Then i called Best Buy.. "Um, i don't think we have any...but let me check...oh... oh my gosh, there's one left..." I said, 'are you sure?" "Um, yes, i have one."
At that point I resorted to begging. I asked him if there was any way he could hold it for me. I said i worked right down the road and I'm getting in the car and coming right now and could he please please hang on to it for me? He said he wasn't supposed to do that but that he'd hide it for me and his name was Chad and to come find him. So I raced out of work and down Broad St. Went in the store and found a pony tail guy who looked ike his name might be Chad. It was. He glanced furtively around, then reached under a display and pulled out the coveted item. As i was thanking him profusely, others in the store spotted what I was holding and came over..."hey, hey! you got any more of those??" CHad straightened up and said, "oh no, she had a raincheck for that. It's the only one, sorry." Once the crowd dispersed, he said, "sorry I had to tell a little lie there... but those things are almost impossible to get..." I told him not to worry about it. Now that's service. I felt like I was going to get mugged on the way to my car with it...
Flash forward. A couple days past his birthday, and delighted 8 year old boy is happily playing his new console. Between various friends and relatives, he has ammassed a good amount of birthday cash and has been contemplating what to spend it on. he has about $90, and decided he wanted me to take him to Target and Game Stop on that friday, and he would buy some games and/or accessories he'd been wanting. He spent the entire week before badgering me about when I was going to take him, and thinking out loud which games, etc etc.
So the day of the big shopping trip, I asked him where he wanted to go first. he hesitated for a second, then asked, 'mom, how much did Mattie cost?" (Mattie is my little grey cat) I explained that Mattie was rescued from a shelter and that with the fees and vet stuff and this'n'that it cost about $90.
He said, 'I have that much!" "I'd rather rescue a little kitty's life, than spend my money on video games." He went on to explain further that if he could save a cat, that not only would he be saving that cat, but that it would open up a space for another needy animal at the rescue organization. He also said that he wanted something to be responsible for, and that he thought it would be good for him to learn to take some responsibility. I went for it hook line and sinker, and we went to the SPCA that afternoon. We met many, many felines and played with all shapes and sizes and colors, until one particular little black cat caught his eye.
He decided that was the cat. We had planned a beach trip that weekend, so we couldn't take her right then. He fretted all weekend that she wouldnt be there when we got back, and made me call the SPCA as soon as we were back in Richmond that sunday, to ask if she was still there. She was. We went straight over there (in our bathing suits!) and filled out all the paperwork and he handed over his money.
He's named her Jealous Livermore and it suits her very well. She sleeps in his bed, follows him around and is his his little shadow. He feeds her, carries her around, cleans her box. It' s sweet. They have really bonded, and best of all she gets on great with all the other critters.