Monday, August 06, 2007

It's Just Another Manic Monday


I didn't think I was going to write another post tonight, but I just had to share this story with you.

Imagine yourself exhausted from the day and attempting to get some alone time by settling down and unwinding--just trying to watch an episode of Big Love. The students are all in their rooms, getting ready for bed. All of a sudden, the ESL students you are hosting for the summer decide to do their homework at the last minute. Bedtime is 10PM and it is 9:58. There's giggling and they're all happy and giddy, then all of a sudden there's screaming, screeching and CRYING!!!

"Oh goodness", I thought. "It's just a spider". The kids are deathly afraid of spiders and scream every time the see one. Truth be told, I am really scared of spiders too. I just pretend that I'm not scared because I know the students are more scared than I am. I pick the daddy long legs up by their legs and usher them outside. It's something I've learned that I have to do if the kids are more afraid than I am.

Anyway, I look over from the living room and see that the kids are all standing on top of the sofa screaming their heads off. One of them is bawling and the other two are half laughing and half screaming. It turns out that while doing their homework, one of the students brushed his foot against something and thought it was one of the kittens. He then realized it was a dead mouse. Yes, it was a mouse. It was dead.

I tried to maintain my composure and soothed the kids by telling them it was just a field mouse, but the screeching got louder and louder. My attempt at quelling their cries was futile. What began as being cool, calm and collected turned into:
"HUBBY!!! THERE'S A DEAD MOUSE UNDER THE DINING ROOM TABLE!!!"
"So?"
"THERE'S A DEAD MOUSE UNDER THE TABLE!"
"But it's so cute!" said Hubby, teasingly. Meanwhile, the one crying student was now in hysterics.
"HONEY!!!! GET IT OUT OF HERE! THE STUDENT IS CRYING!!!"
Hubby, like a super hero, dashes down the stairs in his towel (he was about to hop into the shower) and sweeps up the tiny little body by the tail and rushes it outside. Two of the students are now laughing, but one is still letting the waterworks go. I admit, I probably could have removed the poor little field mouse myself. I don't know why I didn't.
I calmed the one student down and explained that we are in the country and there are animals that live in the fields and forests that surround our home. One of the cats had killed the mouse and had brought it in as her prized trophy. She has done that with mice and little birds before, but she has always left her trophies on our front doorstep. She's never brought them in the house for us to see. I think that we resolved certain issues and I hope I offered the kids some comfort. Two of the students thought it was hilarious afterward, but the one that was crying still looked unsure and unsettled.
Now I know why one of the cats was being overly affectionate and attention seeking. She rolled all over our game of Monopoly and plopped herself down in the center, amidst the pile of Luxury Tax and Income Tax money. Now I realize that she was trying to show us that she had a present for us. *sigh* What are these kids going to write in their journals tonight? ;)
Ahhhhhh....Life in the country!

4 comments:

merinz said...

Hehe, poor kiddies! living in the country can be a traumatic experience for 'townies'!

You will know now to look further if one of the cats looks extremely friendly.

Anonymous said...

It scared the living daylights out of me. LOL!

Unknown said...

mrinz:
HELLO!!!!!!!! How are you doing? I've missed you! LOL! Yes, the kids were traumatized, but they were laughing about it today. *sigh* It really wasn't that bad though!

Hubby:
Thank you for being my superhero!

Karen MEG said...

Those little field mice are soooo cute too, that would have been so stressful for your students to see. What major drama for your household -good thing you had Super-hubby to the rescue LOL!

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City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
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