The following is a heart-to-heart girl-to-girl conversation
I had with my 1.5 year old silvermit furball this morning:
 
"Mythil, I do understand that you're an adolescent.  You want
to be more independent; you want freedom.  That's why you
escape from the kitchen leaving Swampy and Nuke behind.  It
takes huge determination to keep jumping at the gate (onto
which Mommy and Daddy put the plexi-glass last weekend) and to
climb over it.
 
"Mythril, I perfectly understand your actions, but I am not
100% happy that you are partying every night in the livingroom
while we are asleep.  We did the similar things when we were
your age; it's a stage all teenagers go through.  (I certainly
hope I don't find a stamp on your paw in the morning.)
 
"Mythirl, as long as you can take care of yourself, it's ok;
that means, as long as you can climb the gate and go back to the
kitchen when you become hungry or thirsty, we won't be mad.  And
of course, you have to use the bathroom properly.
 
"Mythril, I am not going to complain that you watch t.v. at full
blast in the middle of the night.  Yes, I think the remote
control is a very handy gadget, too.  I am proud that you always
choose to watch Headline News to learn more about the world,
rather than headbangers ball on MTV.
 
"But Mythril, please, please, PLEASE turn off the t.v. when you go
to bed under the couch.  So that Mommy doesn't have to wake up
around 4:00 am and turn off the t.v.  ...Are you listening to me,
Mythril?"
 
...and she said, "Huh?"
 
Yuki S. Busch, Ft. Collins, Colorado
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[Posted in FML issue 1014]