It was a rare Friday night at my house. Not as far as who was there as much as what we were doing. Myself, my wife and our kids were just about to sit down on our sofa and watch a little TV. Something that happens not often enough - Family time. I had just poured myself a glass of wine and joined the rest of the family on our big sofa about to enjoy an episode of "Design to Sell" on HGTV (yes, our kids like the show too). We have a window right behind the sofa and the blinds were closed at the time. I heard the blinds make a slight noise like something brushed up against them. My wife's hair being pulled back into a pony tale was the most likely suspect, so I didn't make a big thing of it. When I heard it again, I turned to see if it was indeed my wifes hair making the noise (which apparently was going unnoticed to the rest of my family). As I looked back, I noticed something sticking out of the blinds - it was a tiny claw. Then, of all things, a black wing poked out.
The following conversation and events took place: (which unfortunately were not caught on video to be sent into America's Funniest Home Videos).
Disclaimer: words in quotes represent a conversation and not actual words spoken.
Me: "Uh, I think there's a bat in our house!" Deloris: "What do you mean, a bat?" Me: "I mean a bat?" Deloris: "A bat?! Where?" Me: "Behind the blinds." Deloris: "How do you know it's a bat?" Me: "I saw a bat wing and that pretty much gave it away." Deloris: "How did a bat get in here?" Me: "I don't think that matters right now, let's just get it out."
I then carefully opened the top part of the window, and my wife and I slowly started to try to work the bat up the blinds to fly out the window. It wasn't going so well, so I suggested to try to open the blinds to force it out. So we ever so carefully pulled on the string that opens the blinds and tried to coax the bat upwards. Unfortunately, gravity kicked in and the bat fell straight down out of the blinds and was now flying through our house. (Man, why didn't I think of grabbing the camera?). Well, I guess the safety of my family came first because I could only think about how to get the thing out. We posted the kids (who were surprisingly laughing at the whole situation) at the front door and told them to keep the door open so the bat could fly out. It was quite comical watching my wife and I chase this bat all through our house trying to guide it out the front door. I don't know why, but I thought of grabbing a pot and lid to try to catch the sucker. My wife wanted to know what that was going to do. I just smiled and said, "just watch. I'm going to catch it." She thought I was nuts. Just when I thought we had it, it flew upstairs and into my daughter Hannah's room. In there, it just started doing loops. I jumped in there and started swinging the pot at the bat, but he was too elusive. Finally, my wife decides to go back downstairs. She said, "you chase it out and I'll make sure the kids have the door open". "Uh, ok". I wait for the right moment and I jump into the room. I think I surprised the bat, because I messed with the flight pattern that he was in and he started flying more erratically. I managed to chase him out of the room and back downstairs, to which I heard shrieks and yikes echoing. I ran down the stairs, "did it go out the door?" I don't know, I don't think so. My kids were both saying it didn't because they would have screamed if it did. Well, it wasn't flying around anywhere and my wife was busy closing all of the doors to keep the bat out of the other rooms. It was nowhere to be found. Checked the kitchen, high and low. Up on the cabinets, down anywhere else it could hide - nothing. Bathroom, bedroom, dining room - all no signs of the night dweller. They all insisted it flew into the dining room, but there is no place to hide there, so I thought I would check the kitchen one more time. I looked up on top of the cabinets again and tucked in the corner was a scared little winged rodent. "Now what?" My wife hands me a towel and says "gently scoop it up and take it outside". "Uh, you know this thing has fangs and will bite right through this towel don't you?" "Fangs? Come on, just pick it up. Here, wear this oven mitt to protect you." "I can't pick it up with oven mitts on!" So I threw the towel over it and it started hissing and clicking at me. OK, now I've really made it mad. It scuttled away to the other corner so I couldn't pick it up. My wife thinks she can do it so she climbs up the ladder to take a peak. "Yeah, he's showing his fangs." So then I put the oven mitt on and tried nudging it to fly. "Go make sure the kids have the door open so I can force it that way and out the door." Unwilling to respond to my nudges, I just pushed the thing off the edge and it was airborne again. My wife had a towel that she was using to shoo the thing out the door. I ran into the dining room to make sure that he didn't double back to the kitchen. We had him cornered. He tried to fly back upstairs but I had closed all the doors. So he turned around, flew down the stairs and out the door. Kadrie household now minus 1 bat, plus 1 very funny experience.
A story very blogworthy so I figured I would share it with everyone. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed experiencing it.
Funny how unexpected little events can create memories that will last forever. I doubt if anyone in our family will ever forget this night. I know I won't.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
What Is The Meaning of Tough?
Clint Eastwood, Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, John Wayne. Yes, they are all tough. The dictionary has several meanings for the word too. Strong and durable; not easily broken or cut. Not brittle or tender. Difficult to masticate (as in tough to eat). Hard to bare, vicious, hardened, even remarkably excellent. These are all definitions to help us understand the meaning. But how do we apply this meaning in real life?
Tough is almost as strong of a word as Easy. So many things in our life are easy and we make them look tough. So many things are tough and sometimes we make them look easy. Tough to me is not just an adjective as much as it is a real feeling.
Tough applies to family life: It's what you have to be to be a Father. When your kids beg, whine and cry for things. You have to be mentally tough to stand your ground. When they fall and hurt themselves, you have to be tough and keep it together so that they don't panic too. And so that the next time they fall, they don't get too hysterical about the matter. Tough is going to work when you want to stay home with your family. Tough is also staying home with your family when you have so much work to do. Tough is telling your wife that you will be late coming home from work when she was expecting you home early. Tough is telling your kids that you can't go to (fill in the blank) because the weather is bad. Tough is telling your kids they can't have that right now because we can't afford it. Tough is telling your wife the same thing (that might even be tougher).
Then tough can also apply to our daily lives. Tough to me is this coming Presidential election year. Do you choose a guy who has spent his life fighting against most of what you stand for and being called a Maverick as a result? Or do you choose a guy who everyone thinks is the Savior of the world, but who is really a wolf in sheep's clothing? He would not be our first Black President (after all, he is half white. And doesn't Bill Clinton hold that title?). He would, in fact be our first Marxist President (sorry I just call them like I see them - or hear them speak). Some say, vote for McCain because Obama is too scary. His politics are way out there and he has no experience. Another side says, don't vote for McCain. Let Obama win and let the Democrats screw this Country up so we can all say "I told you so". Others have just had too much of the Obama Kool-Aid. They are frustrating to listen to because they take reason out of the equation (as most liberals do) and no matter what evidence you present to them that he is not an "agent of change", but just your typical "say what you want to hear" politician, they won't change their mind and they don't even want to hear it. Others say, vote your conscience and vote for Bob Barr (or write in someone). There is no right or wrong answer here. Any which way we lose. I've struggled more with this matter than anything that I can think of. I keep going back and forth from "let the people see who the Democrats really are because with Bush in office, they aren't taking the blame for anything", to "Man, we really can't afford even four years of heading further towards Socialism". This, my friends is the quintessential meaning of tough. "Who do I vote for". Can we (America) get a Mulligan on this hole?
So why is this so tough. We are told that we shouldn't let politicians get in the way of us living a happy life. Yet, we put so much stock in it because (and this is especially true if you own your own business) they do control so much of our lives that it is almost impossible to not let them affect us.
I can't sit out this election, it goes against all that I believe in. So I will have to walk into that voting booth on November 4, 2008 and make a choice. I will just have to bring God in with me and have him guide me to do the right thing. And I can tell you this, even with God by my side, it will be one of the toughest things I've ever had to do.
Tough is almost as strong of a word as Easy. So many things in our life are easy and we make them look tough. So many things are tough and sometimes we make them look easy. Tough to me is not just an adjective as much as it is a real feeling.
Tough applies to family life: It's what you have to be to be a Father. When your kids beg, whine and cry for things. You have to be mentally tough to stand your ground. When they fall and hurt themselves, you have to be tough and keep it together so that they don't panic too. And so that the next time they fall, they don't get too hysterical about the matter. Tough is going to work when you want to stay home with your family. Tough is also staying home with your family when you have so much work to do. Tough is telling your wife that you will be late coming home from work when she was expecting you home early. Tough is telling your kids that you can't go to (fill in the blank) because the weather is bad. Tough is telling your kids they can't have that right now because we can't afford it. Tough is telling your wife the same thing (that might even be tougher).
Then tough can also apply to our daily lives. Tough to me is this coming Presidential election year. Do you choose a guy who has spent his life fighting against most of what you stand for and being called a Maverick as a result? Or do you choose a guy who everyone thinks is the Savior of the world, but who is really a wolf in sheep's clothing? He would not be our first Black President (after all, he is half white. And doesn't Bill Clinton hold that title?). He would, in fact be our first Marxist President (sorry I just call them like I see them - or hear them speak). Some say, vote for McCain because Obama is too scary. His politics are way out there and he has no experience. Another side says, don't vote for McCain. Let Obama win and let the Democrats screw this Country up so we can all say "I told you so". Others have just had too much of the Obama Kool-Aid. They are frustrating to listen to because they take reason out of the equation (as most liberals do) and no matter what evidence you present to them that he is not an "agent of change", but just your typical "say what you want to hear" politician, they won't change their mind and they don't even want to hear it. Others say, vote your conscience and vote for Bob Barr (or write in someone). There is no right or wrong answer here. Any which way we lose. I've struggled more with this matter than anything that I can think of. I keep going back and forth from "let the people see who the Democrats really are because with Bush in office, they aren't taking the blame for anything", to "Man, we really can't afford even four years of heading further towards Socialism". This, my friends is the quintessential meaning of tough. "Who do I vote for". Can we (America) get a Mulligan on this hole?
So why is this so tough. We are told that we shouldn't let politicians get in the way of us living a happy life. Yet, we put so much stock in it because (and this is especially true if you own your own business) they do control so much of our lives that it is almost impossible to not let them affect us.
I can't sit out this election, it goes against all that I believe in. So I will have to walk into that voting booth on November 4, 2008 and make a choice. I will just have to bring God in with me and have him guide me to do the right thing. And I can tell you this, even with God by my side, it will be one of the toughest things I've ever had to do.
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