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As a parent, I have come to understand that just when you think you've seen it all, there's always more. It never fails and a perfect example of this phenomenon is the recent chain of events that has resulted in our conversationally-stimulating, yet completely impractical peek-a-boo bathroom door.

To begin with, let me explain that from day one, we have tried to keep our cat out of the bathroom which, for the most part, works well. We keep the doors closed and if the cat should wander in, we redirect him. We shut the door behind ourselves, but only after making certain that the cat has exited the room. Of course, the children sometimes forget, but when I happen upon an open door, I quickly scan the entire bathroom to ensure that my little feline friend isn't inside, and then shut it.

And so began the chain of events in question. Early one summer morning, kid no. 1 (not sure which one) went to the bathroom and didn't shut the door when finished. So, when kid no. 2 walked past the door left ajar (aware that the door should be shut), and wanting to help, shut it.

About an hour later, I walked past the door and heard the cat meowing on the other side. Realizing that the cat had been shut in, I tried to open the door. But to my surprise, I couldn't. Apparently, our cat, stuck in the bathroom and more capable than I give him credit for, somehow managed to open one of two small drawers located within close proximity to the door which, up until this point, we had never deemed a problem. The result: the door couldn't be opened on account of the open drawer blocking it.

There was only the slightest crack of an opening; and the glimpse of our cat standing on the other side of the drawer was at the same time, both heartbreaking and hilarious. His big eyes focused on his rescuers; you could imagine how he must have been wondering to himself just how he was going to get out of this mess.

Long story short; we wound up having to cut a hole in our door, in order to close the drawer and open the door, thus freeing the cat. We replaced the door and figured that the problem was solved. However, we underestimated the cat in assuming that he wouldn't repeat the same mistake twice. And we overestimated the kids in assuming that they wouldn't shut the cat in the bathroom again.

So, a week after switching doors, the very same scenario unfolded! Cat was shut in the bathroom, opened the drawer, thus blocking the door, in which we needed to cut a hole in order to free the cat. And that is how we ended up, once again, with a peek-a-boo bathroom door!

But now that we've gotten ride of those problem drawers, we're pretty confident that it won't happen again. Or are we?

* Charline Cormier-Pellerin, Moncton resident and mother of four children, writes a regular column on parenting and its many adventures for This Week.