I wrote this down really quick back in Cambodia.. I re-read it and started to laugh, so I thought I'd share this experience with everyone else. Hope you all enjoy!:
We had just gotten back from celebrating Thanksgiving at the beach. It's been a long but amazing day. We got back to our place pretty late because it was a 3-4 hour drive from the beach and then we still had to do feedback as a team. By the time we all actually get into bed, we are all exhausted. I close up my bug net, I put in my ear phones and the lights go off. That's when I heard the bloodcurtling scream:
“AHH! OMYGOSH, A RAT JUST RAN ACROSS MY PILLOW!”
…Nope. No, I did not hear that. I refuse to receive that information.
Another teammate begins to talk “are you serious? A rat?! Are you sure it wasn't a lizard?”
Surely it was a lizard. We have a ton of those…
“Um, it was a rat! I saw it's shadow. It was definitely a rat!”
Crap.
The “rat” was nowhere to be found after a quick search, so everyone just goes back to their beds and tries to forget what just happened. Then I hear:
“…. um, the rat is in my crackers!”
Nope… no it isn't. There is no rat.
Another teammate says “Yeah, I hear it too!”
Crap.
Another search for the “rat” occurred yet with no luck. So we all go back into our beds, close our bug nets and make sure there are no openings, and try to fall asleep again.
Surprisingly it was easy to forget about what just happened. Out of sight, out of mind works pretty well for …
WHAT IS ON MY PILLOW?!
I'm out of my “secured” bug net bed in less than a second.
“Becky, what is it?!”
“Something just ran across my pillow! That's it! We are getting this thing.”
Now 3 of us are out of bed and searching for this “rat”.
We see it.
Ok, so we know now it's not a rat but it is a mouse… which is still gross in our eyes.
It runs behind one of the girl's packs. We needed to get this thing out or none of us were going to get any sleep. So, one of the girls took her bug net down and thought it would be a great idea to catch it in the net and then we'll throw it outside. Perfect!
Three of us surround the pack with bug net in hand.
“1….2…3!”
I lift up the pack and throw it to the side and we throw the net down. At first we couldn't see anything and didn't even know if it had worked.
“THERE ARE 2 OF THEM!”
Imagine 3 girls jumping and screaming for their lives when we realize there is not just 1 mouse but 2.
Now imagine the same 3 girls jumping around when one mouse escapes out of the net…
(what you are imagining is probably pretty accurate to what actually happened.)
Now cue Justin coming in (note: he has come in to “save” us girls during the first pillow incident and the cracker incident) to help us with the situation.
D and Justin get the one mouse out. We looked everywhere but could not find the second mouse so we convinced ourselves it probably ran out from all of the commotion. Plus, we were all now extremeley exhausted so it was definitely time to try and get some sleep.
What is my life right now?
I crawl back into bed, close my bug net and stretch out. We have village ministry the next day and those are the longest days for us.
After awhile, I'm finally dozing off. Right before my real world goes into my dream world, I feel it.
Literally… the mouse was on my foot.
With a swift kick, I'm out of my bed and standing in the middle of the room with my head in my hands.
“I'M SO TIRED”
“Becks, did you find the mouse?”
“Yes…. on my foot. That's it! We are getting this thing out tonight!”
So, 3 of us are out of bed again. No one is laughing. Everyone is tired and angry.
We see it.
We corner it.
It runs out the door and we see the dogs chase after it.
DONE! PRAISE HIM!
With every passing night that has come since then and actually being aware that there could be or probably are mice in our room, the more uneasy it is for me to go right to sleep when I get into bed. There is a huge space between where the door is and where the ground is. A small cat could fit into that space, so why not a dozen mice?
What I'm realizing more and more is that there were probably mice in our room from day one, we just were not aware of it. Now that we are, it's all we think about before going to bed.
Which makes me ask the question, what else am I not seeing? Would I actually be ok with knowing what kind of bugs are crawling on me at night (yes, the next night a woke up to a roach on me… wonderful)?
There is no deep ending to this blog but just so you all know, for now, I wish that I wasn't so aware of what's going on at night.
For now, ignorance is such bliss.
(Thanksgiving on the beach!!)
