Sunday, September 7, 2008

Bump in the Night

Darin this time. One thing that I noticed Saturday afternoon while changing clothes in our bedroom was a slight scratching noise coming from somewhere in the little hall between our bedroom and bathroom. I investigated for a while and determined the sound was coming from behind the baseboard below the closet in the hall. I tapped on the board and the sound would stop, but would start again after a while. Maybe a little lizard?? I debated whether to tell Jonna or not as I didn't want to freak her out, but I also didn't want her to hear the noise during the night and wake up screaming for me to save her. A little background info is necessary here. At the children's home across the road, they have had lizards 2 feet long that have lived in the thatched roof ceilings of some of their cottages. While they do keep the rats away, I still don't want to wake up to one staring down at me.
I ended up telling her before bed that night. After laying down, the sound started again. I spent 15 minutes trying to calm her nerves(and mine) by telling her whatever was back there couldn't get out into our room cause there weren't any spaces big enough to squeeze through. I tried sticking a few things in a tiny crack to scare away whatever was there, but to no avail. I even tried squirting contact solution under the crack thinking that might do something(remember this was late at night). We finally gave in and fell asleep, waking occasionally through the night, sometimes to silence, sometimes to the wonderful scratching music.
Fast forward to last night. We hadn't heard anything all day or evening, so we thought maybe our friend had found another home. Around 5:20 am this morning, we both woke to the sound again, this time it seemed louder and it was coming from our pile of suitcases laying 4 feet from our bed. We laid there listening to it as we tried to wake up and get our eyes to work. We turned on the lamps by our bed and couldn't see anything until one of the suitcases started to violently shake and it actually moved halfway across the room as a loud screeching sound filled our room.
I really just made that last sentence up so all of you could feel some of our terror. We couldn't tell where the scratching was coming from so I got up and slowly started picking things up off the floor. So here is a mental picture for you: I'm standing in my boxers with tennis shoes on(in case I have to stomp on something), holding a fly swatter as a weapon to ward off any attack. I moved everything except one last suitcase in which Jonna remembered having some packages of macaroni and cheese in. As I was trying to decide how to move in, Jonna said she saw a little lizard stick its head out from under the suitcase. This brought a wave of relief as there are lots of little lizards around that are an inch or two long and we are used to them. I took a step closer and out pops a mouse. I guess Jonna's eyes weren't quite adjusted yet. We chased the mouse into a corner behind a little dresser. To summarize the next 15 minutes, we tried to figure out how to get the mouse out alive without letting it get out of the room and without it attacking us. In the end, sad to say, the mouse completely disappeared from under the dresser, even though we were watching it the whole time and there were no holes in the floor or surrounding walls. Needless to say, we will be finding some mouse traps today and we hope that our friend was scared enough to stay away from us for good.

9 comments:

Lia Leenstra said...

We are glad that you got there safety with a few minor bumps in the road. We brought a DVD player along on the plane when we went (just in case there was not little screens on the back seat) but realized it was broken so no movies the whole first trip to Africa!

I read the title of this blog and was expecting much worse than a mouse. I am glad that it was not something else!

Keep the updates coming - It is great to hear about your experiences!

Talk to ya soon!

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear from you! Love reading the posts! We were all in the office this morning, so I read the last post to Dad and Israel. Israel sat as still as a mouse(!) and listened to the whole mouse story! I'm glad it wasn't a 2 ft. lizzard!!
Thanks again for the updates - we love you and are praying for you often!!
Hugs and kisses to the kids - Grandma Karen, Grandpa Rick and Uncle Israel love you all!!

Anonymous said...

What an adventure! I can just see you two trying to catch the little squeaker! We are praying for you everyday! Do you have a mailing address? Jenna wanted to send something to Tyson! Quick bit...1st day of school went great! Jenna LOVED it! We had a great time in Chicago with Trent and now it's great to be home! We've been checking every day to see if you had written so we were very glad to hear from you! Hope to hear some more great stories! And pace yourself with the macaroni...I don't want you to run out to soon! :) Love you! Love, JRJJ

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear that you got there safely and are doing well so far! Loved reading your blogs and hearing the story about the mouse. :) I hope you don't run into a 2 foot long lizard- that would really freak me out! We are doing good and getting used to having a newborn around again. He is fun though, and it's fun to watch Mollie with him. Do you guys have a mailing address so we can send you letters? Hope you are having a great Monday and not hearing too many more scratching noises at night. Love you! Tami

Anonymous said...

Hey Darin...Vikings lost to the Packers tonight...it was Aaron Rodgers night to shine as he took over for Favre. Vikes didn't have much offensive punch...first game jitters maybe. Was only five points or so, 24-19.

Glad you long trip went fine and now you can relax and enjoy your African time/tour. God be with you each day...and happy hunting when you hear those squeeks! Dad

Anonymous said...

Love the story of the mouse!! You had us all on edge! Can't wait to hear about your next adventure. Glad you all made it there safely. We will continue to pray for all of you. Leah

Anonymous said...

So good to hear from you guys this week! I love that the fly swatter was your best defense, Darin! Hope the kiddos are sleeping better now...I know how lack of good sleep can make anybody want to just pull their hair out! Can't wait to hear about more of your adventures.
Sarah and the boys

Anonymous said...

Great to read of your adventures. Keep blogging! Enjoy each day, each new experience, and each relationship!

Rose for the Krolls

Sarah said...

I remember a similar situation with my friend Krista and I standing on a bed doing a freak out dance and Matt chasing two mice around with a broom. O the joys of South African living.