Luke was a little late getting home last night. He called 6 minutes after he should have been on his way and asked me what variety of frappe I�d like. I told him to surprise me and to hurry home because dinner was ready. Of course, his late arrival meant that I could watch Gilmore Girls without him complaining about its suckitude. The O.C. was a different story. He saw there was nothing on other than it and left the channel on something that wasn�t even remotely interesting to either of us instead of putting it on Fox. I told him I�d just go to the bedroom to watch, but he grudgingly changed it for me and allowed me to fulfill my guilty pleasure quotient for the evening.

I have been so pleased with the effort he has been putting forth lately. He cooked dinner Monday and cleaned the kitchen thoroughly last night after we ate. I had asked him just to put away the leftovers, but he did then entire thing and cleaned up the pots and counters as well as throwing the dishes into the dishwasher. It�s beyond nice when he finally starts to catch on to things of this sort.

We did some cuddling on the couch, something we haven�t done since we got the recliners and it was nice to be able to touch one another in more than a hand or foot sort of way. Even though the two chairs are angled towards one another, they are still fairly distant, so the only contact that takes place is when I go over to him and straddle him for a hug (it�s a delicate balance if he�s reclined) or if one of us reaches out a hand over the table or a foot across the divide. It was just plain lovely to full body hug on the couch for a bit.

After we showered, I cut his hair for him, something that�s needed doing for a very long time. He was starting to get the Mary Tyler Moore flip look and he hates that, so the scissors and the comb came out and I think I did a far better job this time than I have on any other occasion. (My, that�s an odd looking word.) Last summer I made a grave mistake and cut it way too short, to the point that I had to shave his neck, and he abhorred it. Luckily, this came out far better than that and I made Luke responsible for the cleanup. The cat seems to enjoy it when I cut his hair, largely because he can get in the way and try to eat the hair that has fallen to the floor.

Speaking of the cat, he was a walking terror yesterday. He had a major meal of one of my three remaining plants (luckily, he didn�t annihilate it), then he found it a dandy thing to rest on the counter while I was making dinner, and then he thought it was kosher to make himself perfectly at home above the cupboards while Luke and I were settling into bed. Needless to say, he was a very wet cat for most of the night, as his negative reinforcement device is a blast from a water-filled lemon juice bottle. Today his behavior seems to be on the mend. Sometimes I really like this wily adolescent phase of his and others, I just can�t wait until he�s old enough to know better and want nothing more than a warm spot in the sun. Yes, he�s cuddly now, but not always at the most opportune of times, and he�ll always be a cuddler much like the dearly departed Moondance was in her later days.

We spent a lot of time snuggling last night, Luke and I. Not only on the couch, but in bed as well. We put off turning on the bedroom television for a good stretch, allowing us to have some together time of the both not-so and very innocent varieties. Even as we were going to sleep, instead of both turning to our respective sides, he held me; pulled me close against him, told me that he loved me, kissed my exposed shoulder blade. I did the same when he rolled over, spooned him and enjoyed his smell. I was reluctant to let him go to work this morning, desperate to stay enveloped in our little cocoon, smelling like dreams and drifting in and out of the waking world. Sadly, I had to let him go. Money has to be made and try as I might, I don�t seem to be the one able to do that right now. It is my place, currently, a traditional one, to keep the house running and the three of us fed (cat included).