I slowly awoke,
my room filled
with a warm golden glow,
of the satin sun
absorbed by my sheets.

The crisp December air,
danced on my skin.
As I stretched
to each corner
of the earth,
and my feet
touched the pocket
of cool air that always
lingers at the bottom of my bed.

The tingle that spread
throughout my body
disrupted my coordination
and I happily sunk
to the bottom of the stairs,
swinging from railing to railing
and tripping over
my own feet

I ate breakfast,
surrounded the sound
of soft dripping coffee
falling into my dad’s mug.
Which nearly caused me
to lose my train of thought,
about today’s plans.

Small minding the thought
Of me receiving the joy
That I had begged for,
For over six long years.
Little did I know,
that this December 24th
would be one
I would never forget.

Because just like every other year
we drove over to
my Nana and Papa’s house
to open our 
long waited Christmas presents.

But this time
something was different,
Really different.
We weren't allowed in the basement,
and everyone had a secretive smirk
stretched across their faces.

The adults sat us down on the stairs
leading to the basement.
With their hands over their mouths
they thought that they had
hidden their uncontrollable laughter
from my sister and I.
But the presence of their giggles
made our excitement grow ten sizes.
After about fifteen minutes
the basement door
let out a fifty year old creek,
followed by the shining glare
of my dad’s bald head
peeking around the corner.
He signaled us to come down,
and I darted as fast as I could
racing the endless options
in my mind of what this gift could be.

At first glance I saw it.
Not an it, a what.
A brown and white spotted fluffball,
that sat in my mom’s lap
twitching its nose at the sky.
My hand softly reached for my face,
and I realized I was crying.
I was so completely overjoyed,
I was actually crying.

My footsteps slowed down,
time stopped,
and all eyes were on me
I could hear my mom’s calm voice
spill out “His name’s Snooks”.
“Snooks” I thought,
the name of something
that you could love forever.