mouse in the house

A couple of months ago I was home alone and up late working on the computer in the basement. I noticed a shadow moving across the wall behind the computer screen and discovered it was a mouse creeping along the top shelf of the computer desk. Now I am not one of those squeal-and-jump-on-a-chair type of women (raising 5 boys I’ve had plenty of experience with creatures, including quite a prolific colony of mice Jesse owned), but I was surprised to see him on a shelf in the basement.

We do have mice outside, but they generally stay outside, unless someone happens to bring them in inadvertently. There was that time several years ago that Hannah scooped up two of them with the dog food out in the garage and dumped them in Penny’s bowl in the kitchen, giving her a near heart attack and proving Penny to be a great hunter (she caught them!).
Anyway, I set a trap down by the computer. Several weeks went by without any sign of the mouse so I finally put the trap away and talked myself into believing that he must have found his way up the stairs and back outside again.

Then two nights ago, just after we went to bed, I heard a terrible commotion in the bathroom/hall. Thinking Missy had brought in another bird (which puzzled me, since Hannah is the usual gift recipient and is away at school now), I went to investigate and found her out there batting a live mouse around. The mouse stayed stunned enough as to not run too far before he got batted again, so pretty much stayed in the vicinity. I called Isaac up to consult as to the best course of action. He voted for catch-&-release. Frankly, mice don’t rank right up there with birds in my book, but, well, I’d let him rescue it if he wanted to. Before he had a chance, however, Missy chased it under my bed and decided she’d had enough adventure for one night and calmly left. Oh great, now there’s a mouse under my bed, how am I going to have any sweet dreams tonight, wondering what he’ll be chewing…

I set a trap in my bedroom, worrying Isaac, “I hope it doesn’t kill it.” (We usually use a live trap, but it has been broken for a year or so). I left the bedroom door open just in case Missy came back or in case the mouse wanted to find his way back outside, and I fell asleep listening for scritch-scratching under the bed. I half expected to find him in a bottom drawer or one of my shoes the next morning. Then I got to thinking, if that other mouse is still in the house, I now have two. Two mice loose in my house… The chances that they find each other are pretty good. The chances that they start a family are fifty-fifty. I had visions of another prolific colony, this one running loose in the house. I remembered reading a story in The New Yorker last year about a lonely man who bought a snake and of course mice to feed it. When the snake died, the mice eventually overran his house, filling it with tens of thousands… I could see it now, mice everywhere, Isaac begging, “But they’re so cute!”

There was no sign of the mouse the next morning, but last night he got hungry enough to chance the peanut butter in the trap and, brace yourself, Isaac, it did kill him.

...but not forgotten

Hannah left for college yesterday. Jesse flew in a few days ago to drive back with her. As they pulled out of the driveway, I had a flash of panic, not for her, but for us, for me and Isaac. In that brief moment, my life flashed before my eyes, my life with Hannah, my precious, only daughter. I saw how much I have really depended on her, how much both of us (Isaac and I) really need her, how important she is to us, how wonderful she is. I wanted to re-live our time together, it went by so fast, and relish each moment we spent together, talking, laughing, crying, sharing.

I said to Isaac, “How will we manage without her?” He said, “I think we should persuade Eli, Kira, and Avey to move in with us.”

After church I asked, “What shall we do this evening?” He answered with a sober, “Get Hannah back.”

He’s looking into the possibility of graduating a year early…

Embroidery Class

The Achievement Day girls invited me to teach an embroidery class.

This is the project we did. The idea is from a site called SugarDoodle.

magic

One of my assignments at the public library is to help with the adult computer classes on Thursday evenings. They provide six classes on a rotating basis, geared to older patrons with limited computer experience. My role is to help out as needed, offering individualized supervision as someone gets stuck. The hardest thing for these older patrons is the double click, they can’t do it quite fast enough. Another challenge is holding the mouse still while clicking. Some have no keyboard experience and it is a case of “hunt and hunt and peck.” Being that I fall into their same age group, I have much compassion on their challenges, and I, too, am learning a lot.

Last week the class had a few no-shows, but a Korean gentleman, James, came by, intending to just listen. He sat at a computer and was soon involved in the class, but needed my undivided attention, mostly because his English was somewhat limited. We had quite the fun evening together. The class was on Word and was very exciting to him. I showed him how to change the font and he laughed and laughed, exclaiming in his broken English, “It like magic!” He was amazed at every new thing he learned, shaking his head and laughing out loud. Learning to cut & paste nearly sent him over the edge, he was so impressed, “Who think of this, Bill Gates?” It was a delight for me to be a part of the thrill he was experiencing over things I have come to take for granted.

My evening with him caused me to think back 20+ years ago to when I got my first word processor. I had been struggling along with a hand-me-down electric typewriter that I had to use standing on its end to keep the motor from freezing up. Typos were painstakingly corrected or just typed over if I was in a rush. That first word processor revolutionized my little domain and opened a whole new world of words and their possibilities to me. I remember being just as excited and thrilled as James had been. I wondered whatever happened to that excitement. Have I forgotten how marvelous these tools are? Have they become so commonplace as to not be special anymore? Are we so accustomed to the rapid pace of technological advances that we have come to expect them instead of being in awe of them? Have I just neglected to be truly grateful?

Thank-you, James, for reminding me.

Avey's afghan

"At The Park"

reversible baby afghan 30"x37"

Original design in double knit

$10 for pattern and instructions

the value of a kiss

My daughters-in-law are both wonderful women, capable, good, and wise. As well as each being the perfect companion to her husband, they are proving to be very devoted and nurturing mothers to our grandchildren. They are great assets to our family, being the sisters that Hannah never had, and bringing experience and perspectives that enrich all of us. For example, Kira has taught us the value of a kiss, something for which I am very grateful. She and Eli dated several months before she deemed him worthy to receive a kiss from her. Although there is an endless supply of kisses, and they are “free,” Kira believes that they shouldn’t be freely given, willy-nilly, to just anyone, any time. While this attitude probably frustrated the young men in her life, during her dating years she wisely maintained control of this very precious commodity, increasing its value by its rarity, and sending the strong message, “a kiss means something.”

Consequently, in our family the long-anticipated first kiss in a relationship becomes a very special, meaningful event, one to be celebrated and shared with friends and family. Kira introduced us to the tradition of leaving Hershey Kisses on the kitchen table after that first kiss, as a way to announce the special event. It was a happy day for the whole family when we got up one morning to find Eli had left kisses on the table.

This morning we found more, from Hannah!