My daughter Brandi wanted to know if she would still have chores now that she had graduated from high school and would be attending college.

I was astounded. Pretty much knocked off my feet. It was Art Linkletter, from days gone by, who wrote the book "Kids Say The Darndest Things," but I'm sure every parent could fill the pages of their own publication with the mutterings of their offspring.

I have found one of the best ways to answer a great majority of the questions thrown at me by the teenager in my household is to give it right back at her. Sometime she is really seeking vital information and that deserves a direct response. "When are we leaving for the airport?" Other times, the question is an out-and-out stall: "What do you mean, clean my room?"

Straight from the heart came the chores and college inquiry. A direct answer couldn't fit this scenario nor could the silent treatment I'm known to administer on the stall-for-time-and-annoy-you questions.

My young graduate got an answer straight from the heart and a very caring parental soul. Actually, the wishful young damsel got my back-at-ya response.

"Will you still be wearing clothes when you trot of f to Pasadena City College to major in your beloved art? Will those clothes need to be washed, dried, folded and put away? If the answer is no, than that's one chore you can cross off the list."

Then of course there was the subject of meals. "Will you expect to have clean dishes and eating utensils to eat with and clean pots and pans to cook the food? I didn't bother with the "if" part on this one because there's always those fast-food places and Arco gas stations for kids to stop at and stock up on junk stuff. I purposely didn't include the part of buying food.

If you're the parent of a teenager, you already know how cautious you've got to be in this type of conversation, because teenage minds are alert, poised and trained to jump ahead and win the game.

But Brandi was getting the picture that chores come with life and there's really no escape. However, I wasn't quite through, yet.

"If you weren't living at home but had your own apartment or dorm room, please list for me what you'd need to do in order to keep the rats and roaches from sharing your living quarters."

She actually made a comprehensive list and in a very pleasant voice said, "OK, I get the picture." Being the artist that she is, she had actually sketched out the kind of housekeeping that would attract the vermin.

While she had paper and pencil in hand I had just one more "chore" for her. She had to complete the list of people at PCC she needed to contact for appointments and she would need to call them. She was also given the list of her medical team that she had to schedule summertime appointments with.

In the days that followed she began making phone calls and when asked whom she had reached, her response was, "I hung up `cause the lines were busy or they put me on hold without even saying hello!"

Well, Ms. Brandi, welcome to the real world. And for every parent with a wishful graduate, enjoy helping him or her cross over.

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