Mikael to the Rescue
I was driving home the other day and this funny memory came to me. This is a story about me, Mikael and a mouse. Before I share it, I will have to do a bit of an explanation and also a bit of a warning.
1. I have a phobia of mice. True Story! If I see a mouse, instant panic ensues with no rational thinking on my part.
2. If you are an individual who would prefer to live trap mice and release them into a flowery meadow to run free, you may not want to read this story. Also, please don’t be judgy!
So, here is the story. First of all, Mikael was living at home at the time that this took place. I’m thinking he was in his early 20’s. The other thing that you will need to know is that by our front door, there used to be a shoe cupboard that had space underneath it. Oh, and we had several dogs, one of which was a beautiful large golden retriever named Beau. Well, one day, in the early morning hours most likely, a mouse got into our house. It just so happened that said mouse must have run into Beau near the front door and being a survivalist, quickly ran underneath the shoe cupboard. Of course Beau then settled down to sleep right at the front door, trapping little mouse under the shoe cupboard (for hours most likely).
I of course was blissfully unaware of all of this (for the time being). I got up in the morning and got ready for work. As was my practice, before heading off, I took the dogs out in the yard for a last toddle. While we were outside, (you guessed it!) the mouse made the decision that now was the time to make a break for it. His timing wasn’t the best because he made this decision just at the same time that I was coming back into the house with the dogs. I opened the door and the mouse was sitting right there! Right in front of me! Two things happened; I let loose a blood curdling scream and slammed the door (me safely on the outside). Did I mention that Mikael had been peacefully sleeping up until this moment?
Mikael came running upstairs, I suppose a bit frantically, at least that’s his version! The conversation went something like this:
Mikael – Mom, what’s happening, what’s wrong?
Me – There’s a mouse inside the door!
Mikael – (sounding pretty cranky if you ask me) What? You can’t just go screaming like that! I thought something was really wrong!
Me – Something is! There’s a mouse!
Mikael – Oh for heaven’s sakes (he definitely did not say it that nicely). Where is it?
Me – I think it ran under the cupboard.
Mikael then headed to the kitchen and grabbed a spatula. I proceeded to run around the house, coming in through our back door to stand at the top of the stairs to the front door. I watched with fascinated horror as Mikael used the spatula to flick the mouse out from under the cupboard. To save you all the gory details, I will simply say that he used the spatula to dispatch of it and flip it outside. He then turned to me, spatula in hand and said, “I think we’ll have to wash the spatula.” (his exact words!). Ummmm? Wash it? You will be relieved to know that the spatula went directly into the trash!
Anyway, everything settled down and that was the end of the excitement. Except for a lecture from Mikael (I thought he was a bit judgy) about what an actual emergency entailed and I was of course late for work.
Mikael and I have had many funny little adventures together over the years! It always brings a smile to my face when I remember one of them. These are the memories that I hold so closely to my heart and I know Mikael laughs along with me whenever I think about them. And this is the thing; this is what we do, parents on this road. We gather all of the memories and wear them like a warm coat. And not just our memories, theirs also. We are the holders of their truth as well as our own, their stories as well as our own. We carry them forward with us for as long as we are here.
