Thursday, August 11, 2011

Quietness

 Tonight it is so quiet here. It is amazing how just the very presence of another person, especially one whom you love, can fill a house with its vibrancy, its life.

And when that presence is gone, all you feel is the silence. Now in my home you can hear the gentle whirring of the ceiling fan, the ticking of the clock on the wall, the fans lulling my babies to sleep in their rooms, a cicada outside, the gentle clacking of my keys as I type and perhaps, if you listen hard enough, the faint scratchings of our resident mouse.

Oh, didn't I mention our mouse to you yet? Last week on Ben's late night, I brought my computer downstairs and was working quietly in the dining room at the table, facing the kitchen. Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement and glanced up. My heart skittered and started pounding as I recognized the dark shadowy shape of a mouse running along the baseboard beneath the kitchen sink. I screamed and it froze and ran as quick as a flash into the teensiest crack you ever saw.

I sat there stunned for several moments thinking that perhaps I made the whole thing up in my mind and I really should be getting more sleep at night. I called our landlords the next morning and they set up an appointment for their pest/lawn control people to come out today.

So far I have been the only one to see......Morton. He only comes out at night when he thinks no other creature is stirring. Except me, apparently! Last night I was sitting in the kitchen with the lights on (now I always reach around the corner and flick them on fast, doing a quick search with my eyes for any running creatures) and I suddenly saw something dart under the stove. I froze and didn't breath....well, breathed softly anyways, for a couple minutes.

And then suddenly Morton dove into another crack under the cabinet where it meets the baseboard. I yelled at the sight of the gray furry mouse with the long pink tail. Ick. I am shuddering now at the very thought of him.

Zakkai says we should keep him and he would like to go to a whole zoo filled with mice...because he loves them.

I did not know that.

The mouse-man (otherwise known as, pest control) came and set up some bait in special boxes. Hopefully Morton and friends will do the disappearing act and go find another place to set up shop.

Although, maybe I should be glad for his company since it's so quiet here tonight.....
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After we picnicked at the zoo yesterday, the boys spent a few minutes collecting nature goodies, including acorns, berries and ginormous sticks. They begged me to take the sticks home but I said in a convincingly (at least I thought) excited voice, "How about I take a picture instead and you can look at it later??!!"

They didn't buy the idea. They're too smart for me.



 Eliana was feeling very colorful yesterday, as you can see from the wild outfit she, er, I chose:) She had a good time finding some grass to taste. Good protein and all that.
 She doesn't have time to look at the camera for me anymore.
They put up this new pathway of rocks around the zoo and the boys loved them. They had the greatest time leaping on and off the rocks! I talked them into a little posing, too, as I am known to do..
Recently I told them a little story about how when I was little, my sisters and I would go on walks with my (now deceased) grandma and there were these big huge stones along the path to the park. We would run ahead of her, climb on and pose as statues. When she came strolling along, she would wind us up and we would dance for her.

The boys thought that was so great and without me saying a word, decided to pose as statues for me yesterday:) Samuel was a frog....


And I think Zakkai was a soldier. Or maybe he was just looking for something. I'm not sure but it was cute:)

We were all up bright and....dark this morning before 4am to drive Ben to the airport. I felt a bit sick by the time we got back home at 5am (getting up too early/not eating, etc doesn't agree with me!) and after feeding E, fell back asleep for 2 hours, as did everyone else in the household.

Morton included, I think.

Hopefully, we'll all get a good night's sleep tonight and wake up ready for tomorrow's special plans!

1 comment:

grandma said...

Oh Heidi how I can feel for you and that mouse. I can not live in a house with a mouse. Either he goes or I do. When we first moved to Riverhill we had mice. I called my handly dandy bug man (same one we used down at cabin) and he took care of that. Mouse free Yea.

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