“I never did like caves. You know what you find in caves? Bats! That’s right, bats! And do you know what they do? They fly into your hair and get tangled up in there and lay their eggs and you go crazy. All right, laugh! It’s happened. Do you want a head full of bat eggs? I don’t!” Deputy Sheriff Bernard P. Fife
There’s no belfry in the Sublett manse, but there was most certainly a bat. Levi walked into our room this morning some time around 5 am to inform us that he’d been chased from his bed by a bat. Being the sensitive and caring father that I am, I told him to go back to sleep; that the bat was more scared of him than he should be of the bat, the bat wouldn’t hurt him, and that I would take care of the problem in short order.
Actually, I think I mumbled something like, “Mmmmm, go back to beddddd…….” but you’ve got to cut me some slack: it was 5 am, and I didn’t get back from the Harrisburg Airport until after 2 (Lilly flew home from Missouri last night.)
I didn’t think much more about the bat today. There was no sight of him all day, and I had almost forgotten about it. That is, until Kim called me at 8:29. She had been in our room watching Lost on my laptop with Sadie when little Batty made his presence known. They were taking a break, getting a snack, when Sadie spotted the bat flying stunts above our bed.
Kim freaked! She promised Sadie all the money in the world to shut the bedroom door, and they were done with the Lost-watching. When she called me, I was at the Spikes game. An hour and a half later I rushed right home to see what I could do about stemming the tide of the bat-invasion.
I slipped the door open and stealthily made my way into the room, armed with a lacrosse stick and a towel, expecting to find a vampire perched on our head-board. Instead, the little fella was hiding behind some of the knick-knacks Kim has on a shelf, high up on the wall. I grabbed a pair of gloves, and with Annabelle watching, I managed to grab the little guy. He was none-too-happy about being accosted, let me assure you.
I took him outside and released him back into the wild.
It’s funny how a little thing like a bat can throw our world into a tizz. Have you ever been bitten by a bat? Ever heard about someone being bitten? How about anybody going crazy from the bat laying eggs in their hair? No? Me neither…
But I suppose that it’s the illusion of danger that is enough to push us over the edge. Lots of us get scared of little things that aren’t really that bad, whether it’s a mouse in the kitchen, a bat in the bedroom, a difficult conversation that’s waiting for us, or a big decision that’s looming over our heads.
Most of the time, when we meet the problem head on, it turns out to be smaller than we imagined, and the courage to face our fears wins the day.
Whatever your obstacle is, I’m praying that you find a little courage, grab a lacrosse stick or a pair of gloves, and take care of business!
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