Of mice and fifth graders..

"We've had bad luck with children; they've all grown up" ~Christopher Morley~

  I was going to write about Sammy's school play and all the things going on this past week...then my computer fainted. I say fainted because I was able to resuscitate it..with no lingering side effects or damage. The downside is that I lost my concentration and forgot just what it is I wanted to say.

  This is a bittersweet time for Sammy. There are just a few more days of fifth grade yet...and then it is on to middle school. He is so excited about moving forward and at the same time so very anxious.  Change is a big deal for him.   Anything new and different just freaks him out..this is the boy who has eaten peanut butter and jelly for lunch every day for the last five years.  Just the suggestion of trying to eat something new can bring tears to his eyes.  So this moving forward is a big deal to him..to me too.


 I look at this boy of mine..at all he has accomplished..who he is becoming..and I think "holy crap  how did this happen?" I so clearly remember bringing him home from the hospital.  I was shell shocked..going between thinking "what the hell did I do?" to "what the hell do I do with him?"  I was such a mess. For one, I couldn't believe that they actually let me leave the hospital with him.  I mean really, what were they thinking?They let ME leave the hospital with an infant-ME!  Were they crazy? .  I kept waiting for hospital representatives to come to our door saying "we've made a terrible mistake..you must give back the child." I admit..in those first few days-there was a part of me that would have eagerly returned him.  Accepting motherhood-well, it took me a while. Eventually, I lost that "new mother smell" (of fear) and we moved on..And here we are almost twelve years later- intact..healthy..progressing. We must be doing something right. Or I'm just really lucky.

  So anyway, it has been an action packed week for Sammy.  They have really tried to make it special for the fifth graders..there was rocket day, field day, the fifth grade play..I was going to tell you all about it complete with dialog...but then my computer fainted.  So tonight after they all went to bed, and the house was quiet..I got out my lovely laptop and thought.."At last!!Now I can finally write!"  I logged on to my  page and started typing...when I heard a banging noise..sigh.. We have had a mouse...issue.  Seems that when we had the electrical work done on the house, something got knocked loose opening a gateway for mice.  And they aren't just any kind of mice..they are rodents with attitude! About a month or so ago..I was sitting quietly in my kitchen typing away when I felt an ominous presence...as if I were being watched..standing out on the top of my stove was a gigantic house mouse chewing on a bit of pizza crust, acting as if he belonged there...staring at me as if to say( with a N.Y. accent) "what are you lookin at lady? I'm hungry..you got a problem with that?"   Well yeah..I did have a problem...a big one. So I did what any other freaked out person would do..I screamed for my husband while simultaneously grabbing the cat and tossing him on the stove.  The cat did nothing but look at me with scorn..Omar set traps.  We caught the mouse and I thought that was the end of it..until last week.  I found mouse droppings behind the stove. Being a kind hearted type of person-I set out humane traps. The kind that catches the mouse and allows you(well...Omar) to set it free (far away from your house) so that it may once again romp free with its mousy friends. You see, I forgot that we were dealing with a different kind of mouse..a smart mouse..a bold mouse..a take no prisoner grab what you want mouse with attitude!  This was Mickey on steroids!   So there I was typing away last night...when I heard the trap close. Omar was asleep..and I certainly wasn't going near it..I figured I would just ignore it..until it started throwing its little mouse body against the sides of it..BANG! BANG! BANG!...What could I do?  I quietly shut down my computer and ran upstairs to bed.  This morning, Omar came down and found the trap empty...the top had been broken off.  So now I have an angry mouse running somewhere in my house..and I find myself worrying about retribution....and oddly, Sammy's graduation.

Sammy's last day of school is on Tuesday..this is a big step for him.  There is a lot of change on the horizon..a lot of worry and anxiety.  But I will be o.k.  I'll just keep pushing him along with one hand while holding on to him (loosely) with the other.It's an adjustment-this growing up.  In the mean time, I will be setting out some mousetraps-the kind that kill. Because, either the mouse goes-or we move.As there is just so much change any one of us can take... moving is just not an option right now....I hope.