Ashley's Memory ~2012

Milo and the Fossilized Oranges

Brittany has always loved animals, a little different than others but love nonetheless. One year right before Christmas, Brittany got a little orange tabby cat. She decided the only name he could have was Milo. Brittany was crazy about Milo and to our surprise Milo was crazy about her.

It was a cold and dark Christmas Eve but the snow made everything seem lighter outside. A few of us older children were in the kitchen. There were some fossilized mandarin oranges on the counter and we were discussing mom’s creative way of preserving food.

Dan decided we could probably part with the oranges and decided to throw them out in the yard. When he threw the first orange the cats ran and pounced on the spot where it landed in the snow. Dan called us to the door to show us his new little trick. “Watch this guys!” He threw the next rock-hard orange as hard as he could in the general direction of the cats. Just as Dan threw his orange Milo stepped right into the line of fire. To our horror the orange made contact with the Milo’s head. The poor little kitten never saw it coming. It threw him into the air and he fell limp to the ground. 

I ran out to him. It didn’t look good for poor Milo; his eyes were glazed over, his mouth hung open and he was as limp as a rag doll. As I carried him into the house, his drool ran down my arm. Dan had the deer in the headlights look as I walked through the door. “He’s going to be fine guys.” Dan said half-heartedly. “Here, stand him up.” I tried to stand him up on the counter but his legs were like noodles. “He’s paralyzed!” I wailed.

We knew it wouldn’t be long before Brittany would discover her precious little pet in his pitiful condition and her Christmas would be ruined. We decided the best thing to do was to put Milo in Tiffany’s room behind her bed wrapped in a warm blanket and hope for the best. Brittany, Tyler, and Emily were giddy with Christmas Spirit. They were running around the house getting ready for Santa to come. Everyone else was pretty glum, trying to decide how and when to break the bad news to them.

Throughout the night we checked on Milo and he didn’t seem to be getting better. Things were not looking good. Milo was either permanently brain damaged and destined to be a vegetable, or on the brink of death. We decided to check on him one last time before we decided what to do. But to our surprise Milo wasn’t where we left him. Now we really knew we were in trouble. The poor cat wandered off somewhere to die. Now we would have to not only break the bad news to Brittany, but also explain to mom why the house smelt like a dead cat.

As we decided what the best plan of action would be, Brittany ran into Tiffany’s room to get something. She came running out holding Milo in her classic tight, gritted teeth hold, and saying excitedly, “Someone brought Milo into the house!”  Our hearts sunk. But to our surprise, Milo was looking like his old chipper self; bright eyed and alert. It was a Christmas miracle!

We all learned several things that night: Dan can throw a fossilized orange real hard, and with perfect accuracy. And that maybe Brittany’s rough kind of love was just the cure Milo needed.