the bed was made; i made it through that, at least, with minor difficulties. bear cannot help but be involved whenever there are sheets rustling through the air and then after they are spread nice and smooth, loves to drag himself along by his claws wherever the mood takes him - to the pillows, to the wall, to the edge of the bed. then by this point, he has gotten himself worked up and ready to play, even if there are no other willing participants. there are several gallops to and from the bedroom, and each time he comes back, the tail is whipping more steadily and the eyes are dilated. now, he heads back to the space between the headboard and the wall and even though its quiet for a minute, i know hes only waiting for either me or puppy to get in his line of fire. i call out his name softly, and a head pops up from behind the pillows; his eyes are wide and his ears are flattened.

i glance at pup, who is sitting drowsily on her new favorite blanket on the floor. she regards the scene before her as only a sister can do, with the air of one who knows she is a good girl and simply would never get involved in such shenanigans. i ask bear why he cant be more like his sister.

there is another high-speed run to the living room and back, and im forcibly reminded of the time zeph was in a similar mood. i was just sitting on the floor that time, and zeph was running back and forth from the bedroom and each time he passed me, he would tap my arm and yell something unintelligible. the running only served to work him into a frenzy and soon the taps turned into slaps, and the once laughing aunt started to worry about her nephews state of mind.

i turn to look at bear, intent on baby-talking him down for a nap, when i see hes already there. eyes closed, paws together - i only know he looked at me once because i could see the shine from the lamp - and i could swear his eyes were laughing.