Little Buddy

You’ve got to be KIDDING me! We woke up this morning at 5-something to sound of a rapid “tick-tick-tick-tick-tick...” It seemed so loud. At first I thought that something was wrong with the water pump, but the more I listened, I realized that it was the sound of scurrying sound just under the floor. Rich and I listened and investigated and listened some more, “tick-tick-tick,” like the little creature was on a big mission: like chewing through something to get to food. The investigation woke up the kids and then the little sucker was mostly quiet. We went about the morning, cleaning up the last few things, planning to leave early to get to the mechanic in Salinas first thing.

I had to open a drawer in the cabinets to get something, and there it was: a FAT GRAY MOUSE, the size of a bus. The children were within a foot or two of me, still in bed, so I gasped and politely closed the drawer as if to say, “Oh, I’m so sorry to disturb you, please don’t kill me!” and then ran and opened the door and squealed to Rich about what happened. When he came in, the mouse was gone, but not really. We buttoned up the RV and headed into town. Once there, Sara and I went to get some bagels and, of course, mouse traps. Rich set up both of them with irresistible peanut butter and we waited...and listened...and waited... nothing, except Rich jumping and squealing like he saw it every time he opened a drawer as a joke. He has affectionately named him (or her?? pregnant perhaps???) “little buddy.”

We left the RV for a couple hours (we’re “living” in it while the mechanics are working on it by this point) and when we came back, Rich checked the traps. The first one was untouched. The second--all the peanut butter was gone and the trap was closed...but not with the mouse inside. Like I said, it was the “Incredible Hulk” of mice. Other than one “tick-tick” since then, we haven’t heard a thing. One of the evening activities (besides a stop at a great park the mechanic told us about) was to get new mouse traps-the wood and metal kind, not the sissy plastic ones we picked up this morning. Oh boy, it’s gonna be a long night. It’s funny how you don’t get used to having a rodent in your home. The only thing I can think of to be thankful for is that the mouse is trapped and contained within the cabinetry and not wandering about the living space while we sleep. Yes, that is a blessing.