Uses of Chapstick

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 the mat in our bathroom.
We have three 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 loved Chapstick. LOVED it.
He kept asking to use my Chapstick and then would lose it.
Finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom
I keep my Chapstick and explained he could use it
whenever he wanted to, but he needed to put it
right back in the drawer after he finished.
That 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 were fighting over the toy in the cereal box.
I was trying to nurse my little one at the same time
I was putting on my make-up. Everything was a mess,
and everyone had long forgotten that this was a wonderful
day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood.
We finally had the older one and the baby loaded in the car
and I was looking for Eli. I searched everywhere and
I finally went into the bathroom. 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. The only question to 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.