April 10, 2010

"We live in a bad house"

Every evening after the kids are fed and the house sort-of cleaned up, I head to my room to watch TV or read. This is my “alone” time and the way I prepare myself for the next day.

There is always something going on; I believe most things involve careful thought and planning. Currently, my introspective project is Courtney’s impending graduation and her unbelievably expensive college tuition.

These moments alone stabilize me. The kids usually will not interrupt me; they are wrapped up in their own homework and/or ridiculous TV shows. It is a very symbiotic relationship and I savor my time and space. Sometimes, however, a personal trauma or request will have to be addressed, and just like any benevolent ruler, I let the kids enter my kingdom.

My most recent visitor was Alex. She knocked on the door and stormed in the room with a look of complete horror on her face. This was enough to awaken me from my lottery winning daydream which would pay for Courtney’s tuition. Alex looked so scared I was taken aback, this is not normal, Alex is usually quite calm.

I was quickly enlightened in a very loud manner, Alex screamed, “Mom, we live in a bad house, we need to move now”. It took me a few minutes to get Alex to settle down enough to uncover the cause of this terror. In gasps, Alex shared she had seen a mouse in our kitchen, and we needed to move because the mouse was ruining our house.

How she jumped to the bad house conclusion is beyond me. I have known about this cute mouse for a few months now. A mouse family had moved into our home when the weather turned cold. John had already relocated, to the outside or to mousy heaven, the rest of this poor critter’s family. This sneaky relation had escaped eviction.

Personally, I felt sorry for these little rodents, at least until I found droppings in every drawer and cabinet in our kitchen. I spent an entire Sunday cleaning, sanitizing and washing every surface they had touched. This was the point where John took drastic action and we set traps.

However, I knew there was one mouse still in the house. He (or she) usually appears late at night running across the kitchen floor. I knew this, as this is usually the time when I am in the kitchen preparing my steamed milk to help me get back to sleep. I have learned that insomnia and scampering mice across the kitchen floor at the wee hours of the morning are very compatible. Both keep me awake at night.

This particular mouse has been kinder than his (her) family members and not left droppings in all my drawers and cabinets. I had not been too concerned about this little creature, and I figured he/she would move back outside when the weather changed. The weather has changed (although the jury is still out on this) and our happen stance pet has not moved on.

I was able to convince Alex mice cannot climb stairs and she would be safe for the evening. However, this has not alleviated her fear over this tiny being. Once again, there are some things I cannot battle and fear of mice is beyond my interventional skills. John has set the trap with the peanut butter bait, and we wait for success.

So sorry little mouse, if it is losing you or the house, I chose you.

1 comment:

  1. You are such an intriguing writer Gary - I really enjoy your posts. Perhaps in your "free" time you can write a novel which will help pay for the "choke, gag, gasp" college tuition!

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