Little Missy - Responsible Pet Owner

Little Missy - Responsible Pet Owner

Chapter 1 Begging & Pleading

Mom says we've had animals since before I was
born, and that's a really long time, 'cause I'm
almost ten!

I can't wait until my birthday. I really, really,
really, really, really, really want a puppy.

More than anything, I really, really, really want a
dachshund.

"But… but… Mom!" I stammered. "I'm old enough
for a puppy, n-n-n-o-w-w-w!" I continued. I was
trying to talk in my most serious voice, like I really
meant it.

"Kim", Mom declared. "You don't help out with the
animals we have now. What makes you think you can
take c-a-r-"

I interrupted. I couldn't help it.

"I promise I'll take care of a puppy."

Uh-oh. Mom was shaking her head "No.".

"Sorry, Baby." "Not until you can show some
responsibility." she said.

"Mom…..I promise!" My voice got suddenly
higher. "I really promise this time."

"I'll prove it!", I continued. "Just let me have a
puppy, and I'll show you." Boy, I hope she was
listening to me. She's real good a tuning things
out.

"I'll… I'll take him out in the morning to go potty.
I'll take him for walks, I'll…",

Now my mom interrupts, "Kim."

Oh great, here it comes, I thought.

"First," she continues. "I wake you up in the
morning long after I get up."

"Then just wake me up when you get up." I thought
that was an easy one.

"No-o-o" Mom went on. "Kim, you never get out
of bed right away."

"Just pour a pan of cold water on me!" I offered.
"That'll get me up!"

"Sorry, Sweetie." Mom said as she shook her
head "No."

"You need to show responsibility BEFORE we think
about getting a dog."

She went on,

"You need to help out with the animals we already
have.",

and on,

"You need to feed them and rinse out their water
bowls or clean out the cat box."

and on some more,

"You need to show you can do some of these
things every day, without forgetting. That's part
of being a responsible pet owner, Sweetie. You
need to show me that you can take good care of
the pets you have, before getting another pet."

"But you love pets, Mom." I tried to reason with
her, but she just wasn't budging.

"Forget it, Sweetie." Mom said, making it law.

As I walked down the hall after my plea for a
puppy, I wondered why does she do things
backwards like that, all the time?

Every time I promise I'll do something, mom always
says that I have to show her first.

Like the time I wanted to stay up and finish
watching a movie on a school night. I promised
and promised to get up out of bed in the morning,
just as soon as Mom woke me up.

But Mom said, "Sorry, it doesn't work like that."

"You have to show me that you can get up each
morning, after the first call." Mom continued. "If
you can do that each day, for several days, maybe
even a week, then we can talk about staying up a
little later each night."

You see, it's just plain backwards.


Chapter 2 The Hallway

As I round the corner to the hall…

"Puh… puh…P.U-u-u-u-u!" I shriek. I hold my
breath, pinch my nose and run back to the kitchen
where mom is.

"U-u-ugh!" I declared. "It stinks down there!" As I
point towards the hallway, still pinching my nose.
"Rocky stunk-up the cat box!"

"Well," Mom states. "I can't clean it out until I
finish the dishes. But, feel free to scoop the cat
box if you like." She added.

"No Way! Not a chance." "I can't hold my breath
for that long!" I said.


We have two cats. Rocky is twelve years old and
Sampson is just a baby. Mom says Sampson is
about five years old, but I still call him a little baby,
because he is so cute.

Sampson is my favorite pet ever. Mom said
Sampson is a Seal Point Himalayan. To me, he's
just too cute.

Mom and I sometimes call Sampson "Snooty Fuzz-
Bottom" or "Snot-Face" because he's so snooty.

Sampson likes to give me high-fives all the time.

My Mom said he wasn't really giving me high-fives. She
said he was just getting mad at me for pestering
him.

I still say they're high-fives.

Chapter 3 Karate Class

"OK Class, listen up." Mr. Jeff announced.

Mr. Jeff is my instructor. I placed first in
every event for my age group, during the summer
competition. Yeah me!

He's a real good instructor.

"This is what I want you to do for me this week."
Mr. Jeff continued. "I want each of you to think of
something to do around the house that would help
out your mom or dad."

"I don't mean, like making you bed, or picking up
your dirty socks." "I want you to do something
extra for your mom or dad this week, without being
told to do it."

"Make it a surprise for them. Maybe, load the
dishwasher or sweep the floor. It has to be
something you don't normally do."

And then I thought, mom does everything already.
If I try to help, I get shooed out of the kitchen.

Mr. Jeff added, "Whatever it is that you do to help
out your mom or dad, I want you to write it down
on a piece of paper and bring it to next week's
class. Can everybody do that for me?"

"Remember to write it down. On second
thought, after you write it down on a piece
of paper, have your mom or dad sign the
paper."

Hummm, I thought. "What could I do."

"What could I do."

"What COULD I do?"


To be continued…

© kalyhan 2005

Little Missy - Superhero

Chapter 1 Time To Wake Up

"Come on baby, get up", Mom said.

I felt the shake-me-awake leg jiggle mom does every morning if I don't open my eyes right away. I didn't move.

"Sweetie, you have to get up…you're going to be late for school", Mom said just a bit louder.

Ha, I thought, as I yanked the blankets up over my head. I wonder if Mom will do the shake-me-awake leg jiggle again.

"Come on, Missy", Mom declared. She pulled the blankets off of my head.

"But I'm cold!", I protested. I tried to pull the blankets back over my head, but mom didn't look amused.

"You'll warm up once you get dressed", she said matter-of-factly.

"Don't we have a two-hour delay today?" I asked, trying every trick in the book.

"Nice try", Mom grinned. "It's the end of March, Sweetie. You only get two-hour delays a few times during winter.

Ugh, I don't like school, I thought as I took my pj top off and put my head and one arm through my school shirt.

The fact is, I really do like school. I just really don't like getting up for school. About the only thing worse than getting up for school is going to bed when it's still light outside on a school night. That's definitely the worst.

"Come on, finish getting dressed", Mom said as she left the room. "You don't have much time to get ready.

I'll set up your toothbrush for you."

I still have only my head and one arm in my school shirt.

I finish getting dressed and look in the long mirror at the end of my bed. I flex the muscles in my arms

and stand like a superhero.

Boy, did I look cool. I sneer and growl at myself in the mirror just as mom walks into the room.

"Kim-ber-ly!", Mom declared.

Uh-oh, now I'm in trouble.

"Why don't you have your socks and shoes on yet?", She continued.

"I dunno.", I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"Please finish getting dressed so I can do your hair." She pleaded.

"Mom, I can't wear this dress." I demanded.

"It's not a dress, Baby, it's a Skort. It has shorts underneath." Mom offered.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not a baby, Mom."

"You'll always be my baby, Sweetie, even when you're all grown up." She explained.

Looking down at my skorts, I begin flipping the skirt part up. "It looks like a dress."

"Kimberly." Mom said.

I know when mom calls me by my real name, I'm either in big trouble or I won't be getting what I want.

"You're a pretty little girl." She continues. "You're dressed like a pretty little girl and it's supposed to be hot out today anyway."

"I'm not a little girl, Mom. I'm Dark Bandana." I corrected.

"Dark, who?" She asked.

"Dark Bandana, the Superhero." As I flex my muscles again.

"Come, brush your teeth, please." Mom pleaded as she left the room.

How can she not see the problem I'm faced with? It's not fair. Dark Bandana cannot go to school wearing a dress! Come to think of it, Dark Bandana should not have to go to school either!

Chapter 2 Hairbrush Horrors

"OWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEECH!" I screech as I covered my head with my hands.

"You're hurting my hair!"

"No I'm not hurting your hair, Missy." Mom replied. "I'm trying to be really careful."

She continues running that HUMUNGOUS hair-pulling, tangle-ripping brush through my hair.

Oh, no! I thought, as my mom started pulling all my hair back for a ponytail. This is gonna hurt, I just know it. I just know … "OW!, OW, OWWWWWWW." I cried.

"Kim, it's just a ponytail. I don't think it hurts half as bad as you think." Mom said.

"Ouchie! OW, OWWWWWW! You're hurting me!"

"I wonder if Dark Bandana whines this much when he gets his hair combed?" Mom wondered, loud enough so I could hear her.

Chapter 3 Ho Hum Homework

Ahhh, oriental-flavored noodle soup. My favorite. I think to myself as I finish my afternoon snack.

"Come on, Baby. Let's get your homework started." Mom said.

"Awww, man." I protested.

"You have to do it anyway, Sweetie. You might as well just get it over with and not complain about it. Complaining just makes it take longer." She added.

Complaining makes homework last longer?

I don't believe anything makes homework last longer. It last too long as it is.

"Remember, write neatly. You know what happens when you don't write neatly." Mom said as she left the room.

How could I forget? Mom makes me re-do my homework if she thinks it's too messy. All because my teacher sent home some of my schoolwork with S-L-O-P-P-Y written on it. I told my Mom I was just practicing calligraphy.

What's wrong with that?

Mom said to save the fancy writing for art class or notes to my friends. I don't know if she was trying to be

funny or what.

When mom wasn't looking, I raced to my bedroom. I must save the world!

But first, I must put on my superhero costume.

Mom says she'll buy me a leotard sometime soon. It will make a great superhero costume. I peel off my school clothes and let them drop to the floor.

A-ha! I thought as I pull out my neon-green-one-piece bathing suit from last summer.

I gaze into the long mirror in my room. This will work. I begin to think as my eyes scan the far corners of my room.

Now, for my secret weapon which gives me superhero power…mom's black bandana!

I reach high on a shelf to retrieve the bandana.

"Ooooooh. So cooool." I say to aloud as I smooth the bandana over my head.

It's Dark Bandana, Suuuperrr-hero. I smile at my reflection in the mirror.

I slip into my bright orange flip-flops for the finishing touch. "Perfect." I purr as I flex my muscles in the mirror.

"Kimberly!" Mom says as the bedroom door swings open.

Oh no, there's that Kimberly name again.

"Have you finished your math and vocabulary homework?" She asks.

"Uh…… Ummm…, let me check." I reply. What a quick thinker I am. I even surprise myself sometimes.

I run to the kitchen and sit at the table. I begin drawing a picture of Dark Bandana with my markers.

"Is your homework finished?" I heard mom say as she later walks into the kitchen.

"Uh, oh yeah! I forgot." I chirp.

"Kim, homework first, then you can draw if you want to."

Chapter 4 Playtime!

After what feels like days and days, I finally finish my homework. I reach into my book bag and pull out

a large book I got at the library.

"Ahhh, Gymnastics!" I wisper to myself. Mom said she was going to try to sign me up for gymnastics classes.

I don't think I really need classes. I can do gymnastics. I just have to see how they do it in this book

.

I quickly scan through some of the pictures on the pages.

Ohhh, back-flips! I can do those. I lay the book on the couch and run out the front door.

Down the steps I hop and leap across the front yard.

Here I go. Back, baaak, waaay back.

Thud!

"Owww." I moan as I lift my body up from the ground where I just landed, flat on my back.

I know I can do a back-flip. I reason to myself.

I begin again, lifting my arms up way, way, way over my head. Back, baak, waaay baaack.

Thud!

"Oh maaan." I moan as I lay flat on my back, again.

"I can't do it!" I screech as I see Mom watching through the screen door.

"You want some help?" She asks. "I'll flip your legs and body up and over."

"You need to jump a little as you throw your arms over your head. Try to bend backwards until

your hands touch the ground behind you. I'll guide your legs over while I hold your back up.

You just worry about putting your hands on the ground, Ok?"

"I dunno." I say, trying to remember half of what mom just told me.

"Just worry about putting your hands on the ground. I'll do the rest, Ok?" Mom asks again.

"Ok, Ok." I tell her.

"Arms up." Mom commands.

"Arms up." I repeat, then fling my arms in the air.

"Ok, lean back. Try to touch the ground behind you." Mom directs.

As I bend my back and try to turn upside down, my body feels like a wet noodle. My arms and legs won't do anything. They just hang there.

Mom picked my feet up off the ground and swung them high into the air, up over my body until they hit the ground behind me.

I KNEW I could do a back-flip! Would you believe I landed on my feet? I did it! I really did a back-flip! I think I did a pretty good one too.

"Can you help me do a handstand too?" I quickly ask.

"Those are easy, Sweetie. Just lean forward and put your hands on the ground in front of you. I'll hold your legs up until you get your balance." Mom said.

I did just as Mom said. This is gonna be sooo easy, I just know it.

Just as I put my hands on the ground, mom said to kick my feet into the air.

Kicking backwards is much harder when your head is upside down, you know.

So I lift one foot off the ground instead.

Next thing I know, mom grabs both feet and pulls them high into the air.

"Wooooa!" I grin.

"Ok, straighten out your arms and don't move them. You have to straighten out your back too. It will help you balance." Mom directs.

I heard what she said but I couldn't keep my arms still. The higher mom pulled my legs, the more my arms

wanted to move. Before I knew it, I was walking on my hands!

"Cooool!" I said with an upside down smile.

"Kim, keep your arms still so you can balance." Mom instructed.

"I can't." I exclaim.

"Ok, that's enough handstand for now.” said Mom.

"That was fun, lets do it again!" I beg.

"The best way to practice is the way I used to do it." Mom said. "You stand close to a wall or the garage door.

Lean forward and put your hands on the ground, just like you did a minute ago.

Then just kick one leg at a time into the air. After a few kicks, you should be able to touch the wall with your foot. Your other foot will easily follow the first one. The wall will help you balance.

After you practice a few times, you will be able to move one foot away from the wall at a time and practice balancing. Pretty soon, you won't need the wall anymore."

Ok, maybe I could use just one gymnastics class.

© kalyhan 2005