delay

How does one start heading for bed at 9:00 and not actually get there until almost midnight? Well, let me tell you.

First, lie in bed a bit and do Sudoku, to settle you in and still your mind. At just the time that you can't keep your eyes open any longer and you turn out your bed-side light, your little cat will come bounding in. This is the little cat who has slept practically all day, and you didn't have the heart to wake, because she looked so cute curled up in a little fuzzy ball.

She, on the other hand, will have no qualms about waking you, and will pounce on you whenever you move one muscle under the sheets. If you are unresponsive to said advances, she will yowl loudly, in a most pitiful way. Then you will repent of your hard-heartedness and you will get up and chase her around the apartment for a while, hiding, rolling balls, letting her attack your hand as if it was small prey.

When finally the kitty is lying stretched out on the tiles, sufficiently worn out, you will hear your husband call from the office. A friend half a world away has just popped up on skype and wonders if we're available to talk. You think, well, why not? I am awake this late, what's another hour, more or less?

You will proceed to have a really nice talk, disturbed only by your repeated yawning, which he doesn't catch because the picture quality on skype isn't all that great.

And finally, you, Mr. and the cat all snuggle into bed around midnight.

(Only to be awakened at 3:00 and 5:00, as the cat is frisky and wants to play. Even when you shut her out of the room, she charges the door, jumping at the door knob and claws at the wood.)