Is this a possum which I see before me, the tail toward my car?

New mothers often wonder why babies cry so much, and can't sleep for long stretches without requiring their parents' input.

I don't wonder anymore. I know why.

Babies require regular input because mothers must not be allowed to sleep for long periods of time. Certainly they must never be allowed to sleep and sleep until they have enough and are fully rested. And this is why:

If a mother allowed her body to sleep until it woke up of its own accord, she would starve to death.

Simple.

And now on to something completely different.

I was driving the kids home late last night and I saw something interesting.

You don't often see possums in town, but they are around. I thought the kids would love to see their first possum.

I noticed it sitting in a front yard of a quiet street as I zoomed along so I stomped on the brake and backed the car up. It was worth it, I thought, to see the possum.

Sonny Ma-Jiminy wriggled out of his seat so he could get a better look. I started talking about possums.

It was then that I realised it was a domestic cat.

I stopped mid-possum-sentence, muttered, 'Nevermind,' and drove off.

Idiot.