Summer Wish

When I was a little girl, I would sometimes imagine what it would be like to have someone anonymously leave a baby on my doorstep.  

I could see the wicker basket (sometimes I just imagined the baby wrapped in a blanket, but my conscience would take over at the thought of the hard cement)  and I could feel the joy in knowing that baby was meant for me. 
  The note always said so.

It would still be such a great thing- except I now know about the legal red tape that would be involved in such a gift! 

For my children this summer, the wishing has been for a kitten.    We have put them off, knowing we will be moving out of state.  Have you ever moved out of state with a cat?  We have.  Which is why we were willing to wait.

However, Fate had a different plan.  
One day, we were out doing yard work and as we all came in, we noticed some sort of furry creature  huddled in the corner of our deck.
We realized it was a frightened kitten and tried to pick it up. 
It was terrified and what ensued was about 20 minutes of kids quietly trying to trap it behind various bushes around the house.   
It was funny to hear the conversation taking place while doing  so.  I heard things like:

"Be quiet, you'll scare it!"
"I am being quiet- hey do you think it's a boy or a girl?"
"I think it's a boy and if it is, maybe he can be mine!"
" No, Mom said I'm next to get an animal."
"Where do you think it came from?"
"I bet it's wild!"
"Do you think it has Rabies?"
"No, Stupid, and be QUIET!"

Finally, they were able to bring it in, where they soothed and fed it.
It was a he and he was skin and bones.  
It took two days to get him to completely trust us and now it's normal to see him in someone's arms, purring away.  

He's filled out now, bathed and content.

We named him Jasper, after a cat we had ten years ago.

And the kids got their wish after all.