Cricket

No. Not the game nor the insect.

This morning I was awakened at 4:45 a.m. when Tabitha's beast bounded across my bed.

Darrin and I have been taking turns feeding Cricket the Sugarglider while Tabitha has been at girls camp. Someone fed her last night and forgot to close the door of her cage.

That would be me.

Cricket (nocturnal creature that she is) had gotten lonely and decided it was time to play. I grabbed one of the bags she likes to sleep in and followed her as she scampered out of my room and into the family room, leapt onto the back of the couch and sat there with her tail in the air, waiting for me to chase her. I looked at her for moment, then, knowing full well I would probably have to find her if I left, I went to the bathroom. Some things cannot wait even for Sugarglider captures.

When I returned to the family room, Cricket was in the same place, still waiting for me. She ran back and forth across the back of the couch several times, pausing briefly to put her head teasingly into the bag, then jumping out when I was certain I had her. I said, "This isn't funny! Get into the bag now!"

Cricket decided that was her cue to run up the stairs. I followed her, thinking to myself, "Please just get in  your cage." To my surprise, I found her perched on top of the cage when I got to the top of the stairs. She jumped onto the arm of a nearby chair as I approached. I opened the top of the cage (it's about four feet tall). Cricket jumped to the edge and sat there, staring at me. I'd had enough of our game, so I shoved her over the side and closed the lid. I saw the little beast running purposefully down the side of the cage and remembered, just in time, that I still hadn't closed the side door of the cage. Cricket and I got to it at the same time. I poked her into the cage and quickly shut the door.

Then I surveyed the damage.

Cricket had opted not to eat the food we left for her before going to bed, and instead had sampled every peach, plum, and apple in my fruit basket. The plastic bag covering a loaf of bread on my kitchen cabinet had a hole chewed in the corner and Cricket had burrowed through four slices of bread before losing interest. A nearby cube of butter was no longer a cube.

I sighed. I am not meant to be a pet owner. Cricket is cute and a lot of fun, but I will not miss her when she leaves my home with her mistress in a couple of years.

I left the mess and went to the gym. It's not like it's going anywhere. Besides, I was hoping if I ignored it, Darrin might take a stab at cleaning it up before he went to work (yeah...I knew he wouldn't, but delusional thoughts are strong at 5:00 a.m.).