My friend Lisa’s dad died this week just past. “It was peaceful,” she said. “We’re relieved for him. And sad...”

I remember well that mingled relief and sadness when my own dad died many years ago. Dad had already been on my mind before I got Lisa’s text.

Sophie proclaims her Auntie Claus. And really, that is the word not just for his fabulous sister but for Santa Claus, too. So many mysteries–how does that elevator get from a New York City penthouse to the North Pole? What exactly does Auntie do from Halloween to Valentine’s Day? Santa declares he couldn’t be ready for Christmas without her help but we don’t see her in the mailroom. Is she sequestered in package wrapping, where Sophia never quite makes it?

This may sound like a bold or perhaps peculiar statement to make on Animal Blessing Sunday, but here goes: I don’t watch cute cat videos. Or cute puppy videos. Or avidly devour feel-good stories about animals saving lives or predicting the outcomes of elections or traveling thousands of miles to be reunited with their families