True Love

Sleep was elusive last night, but just as I was finally dozing off I heard it – that scratching noise in a wall that causes every sense to become alert and your hair to stand on end. “Mice,” I silently scream. Scritch scratch, scritch scratch, over and over.  Calm down, I’ll ask Will to set some traps tomorrow. Is it in the linen closet just outside our room?  How many must there be? The noisy activity goes on and on. I can’t take it!

My husband’s deep breathing assures me he is sleeping peacefully and I’m hesitant to disturb him. But my own slumber is impossible as the invading colony of mice (or worse!) continue their racket. I gently pat his arm. He is unresponsive. I quell the urge to elbow him sharply, but increase the speed and intensity of the arm pats. Finally I hiss his name and he rouses. He sits up. Yes, he hears it. The sounds diminish. He once again reclines, saying it has stopped and he’ll take care of it tomorrow.

I choke back my selfish protests. His even breathing indicates he is quickly dozing off again, carefree as a child.  Alert and fearful, I lie wide-eyed on my back to take advantage of both ears. Sure enough, the “scritch scratch”  soon resumes. I gently pat Will’’s arm, whispering that I hear it again, This time, he leaves the comfort of the bed. Armed with a flashlight, he slowly advances into the hallway, listening for the source of the sounds. I lie motionless, stifling the hysterical giggles that well up within me. He investigates for a few minutes, then returns to report that the sounds are coming from the storage space in the eaves of the bedroom across the hall.  He has a live trap in the shed and he’ll set it tomorrow. “Tomorrow?!” I hope I didn’t whine.  Ok, he’ll do it tonight. Oh, I wouldn’t want to make him go out in the cold tonight. I’m sure tomorrow’s fine. No, it’s ok, he’s up now anyway.

He even took his clothing into the bathroom in the hall so as not to disturb me as he dressed. He uttered not one harsh word, not even a hint of complaint or annoyance. This man is a gem. I have never loved him as much as I do now! This even makes up for his “compliment” when I returned from a run in the rain earlier that day and he remarked admiringly,  “You’re turning into a tough old bird!”

This, my friends, is true love. Though rodents invaded my dreams for the remainder of that long night, they will not invade my home as long as my protector is there working night and day to keep them under control. The scene from one of the night’s many bad dreams, where two rats are in my kitchen and I watch in horror as guests treat them like they’re house pets, will never be a reality because of my husband, my hero! I truly don’t deserve him! 

P.S. And it just keeps getting better. My iPhone headphones were in a my pants pocket when he did the laundry today. As I wrote this, he untangled the huge knotted mess they were in when they emerged from the dryer, tested them, and they work! Amazing!