Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The Pitter Patter of Little Feet...

Fall at our home always means the pitter patter of little feet. I heard them this past Monday, at exactly 5:18 am. This is not the sound of people feet mind you, but different little feet. The sound was like nails on a chalkboard, or Chinese water torture. Little tiny mouse teeth chewing through my walls. I don’t know if my house has an invisible 3 inch tall “come on in, you’ll LOVE it here” sign in front of it or what, but they always come with the first frost of the season. Last Fall I had 6 of them – just when I thought I got the last one, out popped another one, leaving their droppings on my pantry floor and across every shelf, and taking a nibble out of every single thing that didn’t come housed in an aluminum can. I suppose it comes with the territory of living in the country, but it’s still unnerving to think of these little rodents bringing their germs and potential illnesses into the house. Instead of imagining my beautiful children asleep in their beds, I envision little mice running across their bedding, spreading illness to their granola bars, and leaving mouse droppings in the Frosted Flakes box.