One of my favorite things about being able to write for a living is that all my mistakes, weaknesses and failings can be used as material. Nothing gets wasted. I get to use all my experiences, both positive and negative, as fodder that can amuse, entertain and maybe even inspire others.

You don’t have to be around me for too long to realize that I am not a morning person. I need the help of a good alarm clock and sometimes a friend’s wakeup call, to make sure I’m off to the airport or to an important meeting on time. I’ve made a great deal of effort these past few years to fight my body’s internal clock by going to bed earlier, giving up caffeine past 10 a.m. and moving my alarm clock across the room. For the most part, I’ve been doing OK, but there are times when I slip back into my old habits. Today was one of those days.

My alarm decided not to go off this morning and if it had not been for my cat Chloe, I might have slept through a 10 a.m. meeting — one that I organized, by the way. Chloe’s excessive vocalizations this morning made me wonder what was wrong with her. It turns out she was trying to tell me there was something wrong with me, lying there two hours past my usual wakeup time.

My life is a testament to the fact that we all need a little help from our friends — the two-legged and four-legged kind.

Lucky for Susan Logan, her cat Chloe woke her up when her alarm clock failed.