I woke up about an hour ago, senses on high alert. I heard a noise like someone trying to pull the screen door open several times, and then what sounded like a male voice say something. I started to panic and rolled over and grabbed my cell phone as quietly asI could and then laid there, waiting. There's a blind that separates my "bedroom" and the "living room", which is where the sliding glass door is. And stupidly, I had left it open to enjoy the last of this spring's cool air for the night.

So I waited, and again, the banging of the screen door trying to be pulled open. I started to dial 911 and then stopped because it stopped. My head was reeling and I couldn't decided what the best course of action would be ~ to stop him before he could get upstairs by staying down there, or to run like hell upstairs and start yelling to hopefully deter him or at least give my Mom a head's up before I got all the way up there. She hasa gun and she's not afraid to use it. Luckily my son was sleeping in her bed tonight.

Even after thenoises stopped I laid there almost frozen, slowly working my wayoff the bed so as to make no noise. Finally standing, I started scanning the room for objects I could use to hurt him, but to no avail. So I stood behind the blind for a few more minutes so quietly, and then suddenly movement! Something black and low swept past me quickly on ground level. I almost came out of my skin.

All of a sudden it came to me. My black cat Hogan had been out on the porch pulling at the door because he wanted out. And the male "voice" I heard was actually bass-voiced frog that lives in my garden just outside of the porch.

Scared senseless and livid with my cat, I called my husband. He thought it was pretty funny stuff, but he did take it seriously. "Don't ever sleep with the slider open when I'm not home and Carley (our dog) isn't sleeping with us", he said. Fine with me! I turned on the AC unit and talked with him until I got calmed down a little. My hands are STILL shaking from what I thought was going to be a break-in. I'm glad it was just the cat, but I may still skin him alive! This is the 2nd night in a row thatan animal has woken me up and scared me half to death.

Even now, I sit here with a large and sharp screwdriver within easy reach. I think it's going to be a long night for me, and the lights are staying on and the doors are all going to stay locked. I may even take my husband's other advice and sleep upstairs tonight in my son's bed or on the couch and just use my phone as my alarm clock. No matter what I do though my nerves are going to put me through the roof at any sound I don't immediately recognize. And I don't thinkhaving the Ritalin in my system is helpingat this point ~ it just makes methat much more anxious. Tomorrow night I'm taking OTC sleeping meds because I'm just not getting any good sleep lately. Part of it isbecause I've gotten used to having my husband home at night and this week he's working night-shiftto fill infor someone on vacation. I don't like sleeping downstairs alone.

But there you have it, it turned out to be a cat burglar ~ ha!