….
"Master! Master! Look at what I made!" said Sonja, greeting me at the door as I returned home the next day. In her hand was a small tree, made of green and brown clay from the packs I had bought.
"Oh, very nice. We can put it in the oven so it will harden." My praise and a pat on the head made her giggle and wag her tail. I looked at the kitchen table and saw many more clay figures, shaped into trees, people, animals, and houses. All of the clay had been used up, giving her a tiny village.
"Oh my, you've been busy today. Where's Momo?"
Sonja led me into the living room, where Momo was lying on her stomach on the floor, crayons and pictures scattered around her, her tail bobbing as she drew on a piece of paper. Seeing me, she got up and scurried over, holding out her newest creation. "Momo drew Master!"
I took the drawing and gazed at it like a proud parent. Little by little, her skills were improving.
I pulled her in and kissed her cheek. "Good girl, very nice work." In reply, she buried her face in my neck and purred.
As we did every day, we plopped down onto the couch, me breathing deeply in the bliss that work was over and I could relax. "So, girls, how did your lessons go today?"
Momo twisted around onto her back, her head in my lap. "Good, we did the work that the lady told us to."
"And are you getting it?"
"Yuh-huh."
"Good, then soon I can start getting you books. I already need to get you more clay."
Unable to resist, I tickled her belly, and her hands clamped around my arm like a bear trap. Once a cat, always a cat. I looked out the window into the woods. It was now September, and while the leaves were still green, that wouldn't last much longer.
"Now that I think about it, I need to get you two a lot more stuff. You're going to need clothes for when it gets cold. We're going to need to get wood for fires. This will be our first winter together like this. I should also probably get you two some toys."
At that, Sonja slammed herself against me. "TOOOOOYS!" she cheered…....
...…..
The weekend came, and I decided it was time for us to get some work done and prepare for winter. I had already ordered the girls more clothes and some shoes online, and they stood before me on a warm Saturday morning, dressed and ... willing. Sonja was eager to do whatever I told her, but Momo was slouched over and had her eyes closed as if I had pulled her out of bed just moments ago.
"Masteeeeeeer! It's too early! Momo wants to go back to beeeeeed!"
"I know it is, but better we do it now than in the afternoon when it's too hot. I'm not asking you for much. We'll do what we can for now and then relax. Now, I want the two of you to search the forest for dry sticks and tree branches. I don't want to spend even a penny on heating oil if I don't have to. Look for stuff that is dry and not rotten, namely stuff that isn't on the ground. I also want you to collect birch bark, that peeling stuff on the white trees, like paper. We'll use all that for kindling. Get as much as you can and stack it in the tool shed.
Also, keep your eyes peeled for any dead trees, hopefully not too rotten. I'm going down to the hardware store to get some tools. Luckily, the guys who built this place left a few things in the shed, but not enough. When I come back, I'll start cutting down the dead trees. We'll stop at lunch. Ok, let's get to work."
"Yay!" Sonja hollered, running off into the woods to complete her task, her fluffy tail poking out through the hole in her shorts and wagging as she moved. Momo grumbled and trudged after her.
Watching them, I couldn't help but feel glad that I had grown up in a rural area. I wasn't a survivalist or farmer or any stuff like that, but I at least knew how to split wood and maintain a house.