Thursday, April 24, 2008

Bats.....Past and Present

Today had 3 miles on the docket. It was a good three miles. I still can't run the whole thing, but every run I feel myself getting stronger, running longer, and running faster. This week I'm wrapping up the 4th week of this crazy running thing, and is about 3 and a half weeks longer than I have ever lasted at anything! I guess if you can't pat yourself on your back on your own blog, where can ya?? I should give a little bit of credit to the new shoes. These baby's are great. Much more fitted, but still comfy. I still can't believe that the store just took back the shoes after I ran in the for 3 weeks and didn't even have a receipt. (at some point I'll probably stop talking about it).

I like to run in the later evening, right when it is starting to get dark. The hot sun isn't out, and usually too cool for those girls to be running in their bikinis. Anyway, for the first time tonight I noticed all of the bats. Everywhere. They didn't really bother me that much, but did remind me of what is probably the funniest thing ever to happen to me.

When Steve moved into his old house, my helping involved holding doors open and pointing where I thought things went. Steve on the other hand carried couches, beds, dressers, etc. The poor thing was so tired he went to bed at 8:30 that first night. I was feeling great and stayed up to watch some random Lifetime movie (I love those!). About two minutes after Steve went upstairs, and I was sitting on the couch, a bat swooped right in front of my face. Never one to react calmly in situations like a bat trying to eat me, I ran (scrambled on my hands and knees) up the stairs screaming for Steve. He heard me and thought I was being killed. As soon as I got to the top of the stairs, he was just opening the bedroom door. Right as I get to the door, he sees the bat coming with me and slams the door right in my face. I throw my hands up, scream more, and run into the bathroom on the other side of the hall. We keep screaming to each other across the hall, and every time he sees the bat fly down the stairs (he is brave enough to peek out the door, me not so much), he yells at me to run to the bedroom. I can't though. Its too terrifying, so Steve runs to me in the bathroom. Finally he sees the bat fly away so we run, but halfway across the 5 feet we have to cross, he hits his knees. (later I asked him why he did that, he said he didn't want the bat to get in his hair....his short, normal man haircut) I have no problem leaving him behind, so first I try to give him a good shove, and then I just hop right over him. Seriously, like that leap frog game in elementary school. We make it to the bedroom, put clothes at the bottom of the door so the bat can't get in, go to bed. At 9pm. Good times.

The best part came the next day when we met a new neighbor. Levi came over and asked how our first night was. I told him simply that we had a bat. He said that they get bats sometimes, and they just open all the windows and turn the lights on, and the bat will fly right out. Then he asked what we did. I told him how we hid in the bedroom and went to sleep. Levi looked at me for a minute and then said "I guess that could work too". We never did find that bat.

5 comments:

*jen* said...

Hilarious post!! I probably would have done the same thing.

Great job on your 3 miles. Definitely pat yourself on the back, you deserve it. I think it's important to celebrate the little victories along the way. I just hit the 2 month mark with my running and I'm pretty excited about it.

And I love those damn Lifetime movies too. They are so ridiculous but I always manage to get sucked in.

Chris said...

LOVE the story! Great for a laugh this morning. Thanks. Oh, and I absolutely hate those Lifetime movies...I can't stand it when my wife watches them.

Good job on the run, too!

julie said...

hahaha! that's a great story about your neighbor!

so... there's scientific research that shows that on an 18 week marathon training plan, of like 100 people doing it, all who dropped out did before the 11-week point. You're getting there, just be prepared for it to be hard!

Ron Abramson said...

Funny. Once when we owned a 150 year-old house, I found what I thought was a piece of rotten fruit (maybe a peach) in a long-unused sports bag. As I picked it up, I saw the wings and the face, and realized that it was a wayward fruit bat which had made its way into that bag, to never again come out. Poor guy.

We had lots of bats in that house in the summer, and I'd hold up sheets and sort of "shoo" it towards and open door. It sometimes took a while, but always worked.

Cheers, ESG

Anonymous said...

Your post cracked me up! I relayed it to my husband and he started laughing too. I had a bat in my house once, and I was totally freaked out for hours, kept a friend on a long distance call so he could talk me "off the ledge", until the bat made its way out the window. I think it might have been more scared than me, if that's possible!