First, Always

Day 57: The tree goes up, the garland is strung along the branches, and now it's time to decorate. I go through both boxes, looking for one special container and the ornament it contains. Always, this little cockatoo is the first one hung.

Y'see, it goes back to when a real cockatoo was part of my life, and if you've never shared your world with a highly intelligent bird with a very human sense of humour, the significance of this post will probably be lost on you. Cocoa was a very special little fellow, so much so that when he passed away, I could not bear to consider getting another bird. For one thing, my years on this earth are limited, and it would not be proper to a long-lived creature to enter into a contract of care and love, knowing that you would probably predecease your companion. Nor would it be fair to that creature to have expectations which might not be possible for it to fulfill. Cocoa was unique, as all real personalities are, and our time together was far too short.

It's been almost fifteen years since I lost him despite heroic veterinary intervention, but he lives in my heart like no other companion I have ever known. First, always, and in a place of prominence, Cocoa's ornament goes on the tree, and then I settle into the business of hanging other memories on the boughs.