The Wake Up

I lie in bed, pulled slowly from a dream by an awareness to a constant soft purr.  It is dark and I am groggy.  The house is cold and the bed is warm and I want to drift back to sleep.

She is patient, but not overly indulgent.  She knows somehow that I am no longer in a deep sleep. How I don't know, for I have not moved.

I sense her movement.  The pillow vibrates by my head and softly I hear her rustle.  Through half opened eyes I see her body backlit by the soft LED of the alarm clock.  Her movements are slow and graceful, as if she too is awakening from a nap.

I close my eyes and stay still, wondering what she will do next.  Perhaps she will walk away.  She is patient and perhaps will wait.  It sometimes happens that she waits.

A paw lightly touches my chin, just enough to let me know that she knows that I am awake.  She is being kind and gentle, and as I open my eyes wide and turn to her, she looks at me with that expectant, all knowing gaze, and the purring engine starts again.

I rise and feel the coldness of the house.  It is time for me to get up and feed my furry friend, who once again has had her way with me.

Who is the pet I ponder as I follow her down the stairs?