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 [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1014]