When Amelia was a little kitten she figured out that riding on shoulders
was a lot of fun. Whenever Nancy or I got out of the shower we could count
on having to drape a towel over our shoulders and pick up a shoulder
kitten.

When we adopted Tabitha it didnt' take her long to discover the wonders of
shouldering. She and Amelia would take turns. When Harri came home, she
figured out that she liked shoulder riding too.

Now, when either of us steps out of the shower we can count on seeing one,
two, or three kitties waiting for a shoulder ride. We generally handle
this on a "first come, first served" basis - whoever was waiting first
gets to shoulder first. This generally works pretty well.

But every once in a while something unusual happens that requires that we
abandon the "first come, first served" idea. This morning was one of
those times. As soon as I opened the shower curtains, Amelia came
traipsing into the bathroom, followed closely by Harri. Amelia took her
usual position on the sink. Harri, though, hopped up on the edge of the
tub and proceeded to tell me a story of woe.
Meeeeow-squuueak-rowwww-purr-squeak-rowwwwr. I'm not sure what she was
saying, but she was very serious about it. Judging by the earnestness of
her voice and the grim look in her eyes I'm sure that she was telling me
something that had to do with the safety of the entire universe. Of course
I let Harri shoulder first, and as soon as she got onto my shoulders she
started purring up a storm. Whatever horrible tragedy was about to befall
the universe, letting Harri shoulder first seems to have resolved the
problem.

I often wish that I was able to understand kittlish....