One Little Thing...

Can bring back so many memories.

Early Sunday Morning.  Abby comes in and said, "Mom, I am wet."  It is 2:30 am.  I said, "oh, did you go potty in bed?"  Her little fists ball up and she shakes them at me and said, "Noooo, my blankets made me wet!!"

"Okay."  I replied, "lets get you cleaned up then."

I get Abby in the bath, and Emma off the shared bed and onto the floor.  Back to the bathroom I spot a COCKROACH!!  Of course I can't just grab a shoe to squish it, it is far to big!  I freeze for a moment then I remember that Pa is here and he is MY protector.  He can come squish it for me.

(This is what it looked like)

He comes in to take care of the ugly beast.  But he says that it got away and went back to bed.  I still had chills going up my spine.  The little creature returned (I knew it would).  So I go back to sleeping Pa and say, "honey it isn't gone will you come take care of it please."  He gets up out of bed and I hand him a shoe.  That little critter is running for it's life and Pa, thank you so much, he squished it with one blow.

I get Abby out of the bath and get her dressed and on the floor with her sister.  As any Mom would do.  Or maybe just a Mom like me.  First thing on Mothers Day I am cleaning up potty off of a child's bed.  I can't stand to let it sit their and dry all night.  I've gotta soak it up and then clean it with vinegar.

With that done I am off to bed.  But how could I sleep after seeing a roach in my house.  We don't have roaches in our house.  I figure it is because Pa has been digging in the back yard and it probably got confused and came in.  So thankful it was squished.  

But I couldn't sleep.

I could however think about the times that I have encountered those dreaded cockroaches.  I think the first time I ever saw them was when I was probably 10 or 11.  My family had gone to visit another family.  There home struggled for cleanliness.  The kid's room had papers from school shoved in corners.  I have always been one that wanted things in order. so I thought.  I will just help this family out a bit.  I went into the room with all of the school papers, I reached to the corner with the papers, grabbed a big handful of papers and out crawled hundreds of roaches all up the wall.  I shivered with yuckiness.  Quickly put the papers back and stayed by my Mothers side the rest of the time.  

Another time I was in Hawaii as a missionary.  Hadn't been out very long when Sister Bagley comes up to me and she doesn't say a word she just uses her finger to say come here.  I follow.  I notice she is holding a small bathroom disposable cup.  We continue to her side of the apartment, go through a door and she closes the door and bit hands me the cup, points above the door and said, 

"Get it."  

"Uh, not with that." I said.  

We go to get the bug spray.  

I use the bug spray.

The roach doesn't like it.  

It turns and starts flying at us.  

We scream like little girls running down the hall. 

Sister Matsuno comes in.  She is just smiling.  "What is wrong sisters?"  She asks.

We point under the table.

She laughs, shakes her head and said, "That is not how you kill it."  

She grabs the church news rolls it up, then she starts whacking the bug and it is DEAD!

Yuck, that gives me chills.

A while later on my mission.  We went to teach a lady.  She was on the couch and we were on the floor.  (Hu, I never thought about that before.  We taught many people from the floor while they sat on the couch.  Interesting.)  She had hard wood floors and those roaches kept coming out from under the couch to visit with us.  I could tell that the lady notices that we were uncomfortable with the "bugs" crawling around.  So she spoke to them like pets.  "Shoo, shoo." She would say, "they don't want you here, you go away!!"  They would run back under the couch.

One more memory  I will write.

I was taking a tour into one of the video rooms, I notice a large roach hanging out be the doors. It wouldn't go away.  So I step on it while I am holding the door open.  The guests go into the room, as do I.  The roach just walks away.  (My shoes were soft and so was the carpet.  It wouldn't squish.)

Oh, one more.  I am just having all of these fun memories.

It was a Sunday.  (I was on my mission)  We were late for church.  We had to sit on the stage in front of everyone.  I quickly shake out my shoes, throw them on and run out the door.  It felt like I had a stick in my shoe but I didn't have time for that.  I needed to get to church.  Still no time we go to church.  During the meeting I realize what is in my shoe.  But I can't take it out and put on the floor in the church building.  So I wait.  I forgot about it till we get to our next appointment.  We park and I pull the large roach.  It had gotten in between my shoe and my shoe insert, but the leg was up by the side of my foot.  I threw it on the ground and the ants took care of it from there.

I sure was brave on my mission, but now... I am so glad that Pa is around to protect me.

Back to reality.  After having all of those memories goes threw my mind I was able to sleep. Knowing that we don't have roaches in our house it was just one because of the digging.  But we are still going to put some bug spray down just to be safe.  :o)  -Ma

P.S.  Happy Mothers Day!!