I wake to see my bedroom door opening. After a moment, Zoey enters. The clock says 3 AM.
A couple of years ago, Zoey taught herself how to open our doors. She sat and studied the lever-style handles for days, then stood on her hind legs, hooked a paw and pulled. She was so proud of herself. She and Hunter were nightly visitors for a time, until in desperation I locked my door.
But it’s been a while and I no longer lock, thinking that she has forgotten.
She hasn’t.
She is quiet. Does she think I don’t know she’s there? Hunter silently enters, too, and sits.
I am thoroughly awake now and highly amused. Let’s see what they do next, I think. Nothing happens for a while. I decide that if they are quiet they can stay.
I am nearly back to sleep when Zoey stealthily jumps onto the bed. I roll over and she jumps down. WASN”T ME, she says.
I am almost asleep again when Hunter jumps up. There is nothing stealthy about him. He visits my face. “Let me sleep, Hunter,” I murmur. For a wonder, he does.
Until 5 AM. That is his official waking hour. He often cries at the door for me at 5 AM. This morning, though, there is no crying. Instead, he bites a clump of my hair at the scalp and tugs, a highly effective way to rouse me.
Also the quickest road to banishment. Zoey is in the living room looking out the window. And Hunter is now sitting in expectation right where he gets his bedtime treats.
(Sigh.) Okay. He gets treats. And I go back to bed, locking the door behind me.
**********
Oh, Lord,
You are a much better parent than I am, a tender and sympathetic father. All I need to do is knock, and your door swings open. You welcome me day or night. Indeed, You never sleep.
I am not like You. My sympathies depend on a good night’s sleep. I must have restrictions so that people and cats can live together. They don’t understand and I can’t explain.
But then I don’t always understand the limitations You place on me. Help me be as accepting of those limitations as my cats are of mine.
And may I be forgiven, by them and by myself, for the newly locked bedroom door. Amen.