When a Cat Decides to Sleep with You

I stayed with our grandchildren last night. It was our sleepover party at their house because their parents are both out of town. Everything went well with the children. They know their routine so well, they probably could have done it themselves. I know their routine quite well by now, too. It works. All three children were asleep by 7:30 pm. There wasn't a sound from them until early morning.

I didn't know the routine of their inside pets: Mosie, a chocolate lab who barks when nervous; Clancy, a Jack Russell mix with the resulting agility and intelligence; and Enkidu, a large black cat. Honestly, beyond feeding them, I didn't think about them too much. It was enough to think about the children.

There's a tipping point when things start to happen. Being woken up a few times is annoying. Being woken up 5 or 6 times is maddening. After this, it just becomes comedy. Here is a recap of my night:

9:30 - went to bed (on the couch) thinking I'd get a little extra sleep
10:30 - got up because I had forgotten to get an extra blanket for Mattheus. He was asleep, but it was a cold night. I didn't want him to get cold.
10:45 - Clancy left Mattheus' bed and curled up on my feet.
11:30 - Heard Enkidu meowing loudly outside. I had forgotten to let him in. Got up, opened the  front door. No cat. Called. No cat. Opened the back door. No cat. Called. No cat.
12:25 - Enkidu meows again. This time I decide to ignore him.
1:15 - Enkidu meows seriously. I get up and open the front door. He's there. He comes in. I go back to the couch and find that Clancy has gotten tired of being disturbed and is back sleeping with Mattheus.
1:20 - Enkidu lands on me - 15 lbs of solid cat. I picked him up and plopped him on the floor, telling him, in no uncertain terms, he is not going to sleep with me.
2:30 - Mosie puts her cold wet nose on my cheek. She is wriggling around and desperate to go out and pee. I pull my legs out from under Enkidu and get up to let Mosie out. Then I come back to the couch. Enkidu jumps up and settles on my knees.
2:35 - Get up to let Mosie back in. Enkidu has abandoned the couch temporarily. I have a sneezing fit and stay up to blow my nose.
3:00 - Enkidu jumps up on my belly. I put him on the floor again, again letting him know I'm not going to put up with his nonsense. For the next half hour, Enkidu finds every little toy on the floor and bats them around. I hear something fall off a shelf. He is definitely pissed.
3:30 - Enkidu jumps onto my chest, starts purring loudly and kneads my chest with his claws. It's a warning. He is clearly letting me know if I give him the shove one more time, I will have a cat on my face. I let him stay.
4:30 - Rodrigo the rooster starts crowing.
5:00 - I hear Lucien calling "Papa, Papa". I go to him, letting him know Grandma is here to help.
He smiles and says, "Hi Grandma. It's just so dark in here." I turn on the small star lights for him and he smiles again, "that's better," curls up and pulls the blanket up around him.
5:45 - The children are all awake and ready to get dressed for school. I'm up for the day. It was almost a relief!