Mom's almost trained

Dad was workin' evenin's, last nite. So, it was a quiet nite for mom. She had worked all day on that iris project, determined to finish it an' get it over with. It was a muddy, dirty an' sweaty project. When she finally finished, she said she headed for the showers, dug out her summer lounge outfit an' told me an' Lexie that we were not havin' any late nite patrols 'cause she was gonna close outside super early. 
She was serious, too.

Mom cleaned up the kitchen, put clothes in the wash an' gave us our dinner, then settled herself on the couch w/a blankie an' her book, an' the tv low on some shows she had taped. Figurin' out mom wasn't gonna do anythin' interestin', Lexie an' I finally went out on a patrol about 10 pm. 

It was a really nice nite.....quiet n' clear w/a lil' breeze. We checked everywhere, not worried about mom by herself.....we knew the front door was locked an' she was right by the backdoor, where I could hear her if she needed me. 

Like I said...it was a quiet nite...mom on the couch, us out patrollin'......imagine her surprise when......
Lexie burst in thru her lil' door, runnin' right to mom w/a waggin' tail an' a grin..well, kinda a grin.....holdin' a big possum in her mouth. 

I have to give mom credit....she was right in the midst of sayin' "hi" to Lexie w/a big smile notin' the waggin' tail and the happy face...then she zeroed in on what Lexie was showin' her. 
That "hi, sweetie"...quickly changed to "ohhh, you've got a possum.....you need to take that outside"......
Mom stayed calm as she put down her book...an' lowered her chair. Lexie was still waggin' her tail as she went back out her lil' door....w/the possum.

Mom started to go out back....but then.....she thought....."gloves"...."shovel"...."lite"...."how far was she gonna have to go outback".....then ....."hmm...dad's should be home soon"...."what are the odds"......just for fun, she went an' looked out the front...and there was his car! She felt like she had won the lottery....in fact, he walked in the door at that moment. This all took less then a minute since Lexie had gone thru her lil' door.

Mom told dad she was glad he was home.....HIS lil' girl was waitin' on the back porch w/a possum for him. 

Dad laughed..mom got a couple of treats an' they both headed to the back door. 

There was Lexie....watin' on her lil' porch w/that possum still in her mouth. She showed it to dad an' mom (again). Mom offered her a treat for the possum......an' pointed to the ground. Lexie dropped the possum an' took the treat. Then mom grabbed her collar an' pulled her inside...an' gave her another treat an' a lot of "good girl's". Dad found mom's shovel an' removed the possum. 
Me? I was in the bushes lookin' for more.......
.
Mom said she's not sure about this new development of us bringin' stuff in the house to "show" her......I don't know what her issue is.....it's not like we leave stuff in the house....Lexie took it right back out, but wanted to make sure mom knew about it...an' would pay her for it. It's like a bounty. We've always tried to include mom in our missions. It makes perfect sense to us. She's also not sure her reactions are normal......again, we do....after all, we've almost got her trained good.