Why My Lips Stayed Chapped on Mother's Day

So, we had this great 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently died.

Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and
nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this
mat in our bathroom.

Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3
years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves chapstick.
LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it.

So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick
and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right
back in the drawer when he was done.

Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to
get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are
fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little one
at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and
everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and
the amazing job that is motherhood.

We finally have the older one and and the baby loaded in the car
and I am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the
corner to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my
chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . . rear end. Eli looked right into my
eyes and said "chapped."

Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right ---their little bottoms do
look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. And the only
question to really ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli
had done that to the cat's behind, or the hundredth.

And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that
no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there
will always be that day when you realize they've been using your chapstick
on the cat's butt.

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