In my kitchen, behind my flour canister - lives the tiniest little spider. I know he lives there. I see him most everyday. I don't like spiders, but he doesn't bother anyone and so I let him be.
Every now and then, when I am out in my yard ... I will see a snake. I see way more snakes than I really want to see ... but, mostly they don't bother me. I watch them closely to make sure they are slithering away from me and not towards me - but, I pretty much deal with these snakes.
When I go out into our garage, occasionally, I will come across a tiny scorpion. Now ... these are those Texas scorpions - the type that will sting you and it hurts - but they won't kill you. Still ... I run for the biggest shoe I can find, return to where the scorpion was seen - search him out and SQUASH it until it is good and DEAD!
Now ... if I am walking into my kitchen or bathroom or ANYWHERE ... and I come across a ROACH - one of those HUGE Texas ROACHES (water bugs, they call them) - a chill runs across the back of my neck and tickles up my skull in such a way that it feels like my hair is standing straight up in the air. I will stumble backwards or sideways or spring up from the floor towards the ceiling - nearly crawling out of my skin - to back away from the ROACH! I will never find a shoe fast enough to SQUASH the thing, but I will try ... and when I return to where it was last seen ... and it is gone, I will feel as though the nasty creature is crawling on me, in all my cupboards, beneath all our sheets and inside my shoes ... until it is seen again and I can KILL it!!
I hate MICE about as much as I hate ROACHES!
I don't see them often - thank goodness!
Sometimes, I do ...
One day recently, I was sitting at my desk.
I look up.
Standing by the door in my room is Little Billy, Alexis and my niece.
They are besides themselves with excitement.
"Close your eyes," Alexis screeches.
I do.
"You can open them now," my son says, and is now standing very close to my body.
My eyes fly open, I fly back, my chair nearly tips me on the floor - I make every attempt possible to crawl out of my skin, but can not do it, I SCREAM, "What is it ? What is it?!?"
"It's a mouse," he whispers, and he has it pinched between his fingers - standing way to close to me - RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF MY BEDROOM!!!!
I made every effort to calm myself.
"TAKE. THE. MOUSE. OUT. OF. THIS. HOUSE!" I say this loudly, but calmly - very aware that if I startle the boy that he might very well drop the creature - it will scamper away - never to be seen again.
Little Billy - pinching the mouse between his fingers - holding the mouse way out in front of his body - walks down the stairs, through the kitchen, out the back door and into the yard. When he returned into the house he explained that one of the cats had captured the mouse and they all SAVED it before the cat could eat it up - YIPPIE!!
I instructed all of these mouse-saving-kids to WASH THEIR HANDS AND PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE ... NEVER DO THAT AGAIN - EVER!
A short while later ... while I was standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes, I look over and see Little Billy heading out the back door with a fistful of Girl Scout cookies in one hand. In his other hand he has something I can not see. I say, "What do you have?"
He flings open the sliding door, looks in my direction, he says, "Cookies for me," and he crams one into his mouth. He then holds out his other hand and says, "And, a piece of cheese for the mouse," and then he is gone.
On the upside ... I don't know if he was able to find the mouse again - I only saw him run off into the woods behind our house - a pile of melting Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies in one hand, for himself, and a slice of American cheese, still in the wrapper ... FOR THE MOUSE, in the other! I couldn't help but smile. Isn't he the cutest thing? I thought, and then ... my smile turned quickly to a frown. I began to imagine him back in the woods feeding that MOUSE a melted Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie - instead of the cheese. That would mean - you know - the mouse would then follow the boy back home - you know ... If you give a mouse one Girl Scout Cookie ... then he'll want ... ANOTHER GIRL SCOUT COOKIE! (*sigh like a fat mother addicted herself to delicious Girl Scout cookies*)
I'm going to have to SQUASH that mouse - if I find him anywhere near my Girl Scout cookies - I AM!