I have always been someone who is so used to getting up early, that I never need to set my alarm. In most cases, my body just knows when it is time for me to get up. There have even been times where I have set my alarm "just in case" - and woken up just minutes before it was scheduled to go off. But as of late, I have a particular alarm clock that I can't shut off, that goes off as early as 3:00am - and has a snooze window of about five seconds - I am of course referring to Beavis.

I love him more than life itself and consider him my son, but he drives me crazy almost every morning. At a very early hour, which is usually between 3:00am and 5:00am, he meows at a pace that is so relentless - that it would wake up a dead person. The funny thing is that I have no idea what he wants from me. There are times I have gotten up and given him food, water, treats - even a can of tuna just to shut him up - but as soon as I lay back down he meows again. Personally, I think he just wants to hang out because he is asleep during the day while I am at work - and God forbid I should sleep while he is awake. Whatever his intentions are - all I know is that his morning meowing happens so frequently that I no longer "wake" up - I "meow" up.

His morning ritual has even evolved as I have begun to try and sleep through his persistent meowing. If his cries do not get me up, he has learned to play with things in my room that make noise and are sure to get me out of bed. For example, I have a three shelf stand next to my bed that holds my keys and TLC pins. If I don't get up, he starts to play with the keys until the noise gets to me enough to open my eyes. This is why I am convinced that Beavis is a true genius - because he never plays with the keys or the stand during the day - but only when he needs to get me up. Another one of his "wake me up tactics" is scratching my bed - which he knows gets me really angry to the point where I yell at him. But again showing my son's genius - the fact that I have to get up and yell at him for scratching the bed means that I got up - so despite getting yelled at - his mission is once again accomplished.

While I love him and want nothing more than to raise him as my child for the rest of my life - I would give anything for one meow-less morning where I could wake up under my own power instead of Beavis' constant cries...

...or at least a pair of earplugs.