The Yuma Cat--a story by Mia

It is not an unknown fact that Dad did not care much for animals in the house when we were growing up. I remember how the cats we had over the years would run in fear of my Dad and his wrath of them being inside the house.

We had a cat named TeaDee Ling (not sure if this is the correct spelling). I believe it was Rodrigo's cat. This fat black and white cat lived outdoors. He was much more than a regular tom/alley cat because he had more than nine lives. One day we (the girls) snuck him in, and we were sitting on the floor while Mom was crocheting something. The cat was relaxed sleeping on the floor. Once in a while his tail would swish back and forth.

Mom was just starting to warn us about the time, and Dad's soon arrival. When the cat suddenly jump up and went crazy. He was running from door-to-door, window-to-window trying to find a way to escape. We were laughing at our crazy cat and trying to figure out what was the matter with him. Then we realized why he was acting insane when we saw Dad's work truck parked in front of the house. He, the cat, had heard the truck coming down the street before we had. Dad had put a fear in our pets.

Throughout our life in Yuma, we had pets here and there, and the rule was always the same---No pets in the house. We, of course, would sneak them in when Dad was out, and they would enjoy it. Despite all of our sneakiness, Dad somehow knew we what we were doing, and he let the animals know they were not welcomed in his house.

I guess the lesson from this story is: You can try to be sneaky behind your parent's back, but they will always find out what you are doing. It's better to just choose the right, and be obedient to what they ask. Then you avoid heartache later.