We figured out we have a mouse.
Yesterday I woke up at 1am and lay in bed reading my book. Then I started to hear the slightest rustling.
You should know I’ve become a very light sleeper because I’m anticipating the girls waking up at least once a night (needing to pee or be covered up)…But out of nowhere I heard a little scampering. And I SHOT UP in bed. Because I thought the scampering was in our bed!
This woke up Todd, naturally. And when I explained that I thought something was in the van, he said don’t worry about it, go back to sleep. WELL, I don’t know about you, but when I think there’s a creepy crawly-a scorpion maybe?!??- I CANNOT GO BACK TO BED!
Could you??
Well, Todd fell asleep in the next 2 minutes. I remained on intruder patrol. Laying stiff as a palm tree and our bed sheet perfectly wrapped around my body. I fell asleep in 30 minutes.
In the morning (I survived without being bit or crawled upon! Thank Goodness!!!!), but I discovered some mouse evidence.
We had just spent 3 blissful nights in one place. And this morning it was a “moving day.” As we were cleaning up the van to prepare to head into town for groceries, water, and hopefully fish tacos- I noticed a tiny bit of mouse poop under our water storage tank. But no evidence in our pantry- no nibbles no poop there! Thank goodness.
This has happened before…with very similar circumstances – we were parked in one place for 3 nights….we caught the small field mouse in a matter of hours…yes it traveled with us (from Portland, OR to Lopez Island, San Juan Islands WA)- can you believe it???
But don’t be alarmed, this is not everyday! We traveled throughout South America without any unexpected “hitchhikers”…it seems that when the van gets less use we’re seeing this?
So the initial shock and squeamishness of this situation passed over quickly (note: Todd was not fazed at all). Todd pulled out a mouse trap and we set it for the night.
We’re definitely going to solve this problem in the next 24 hours, trust me!
So mouse hitch hikers are not a day to day experience for us. This experience made me reflect on the fact there is a lot of predictability and easy going approach in our van life. Most days can be planned in the morning and changed if need be. Most activities are enjoyable, but let’s face it- some are definitely not.
ON A GREAT VAN DAY the following might happen:
-We have a dinner that’s been slow cooked in our pressure cooker and Wonderbag
-The girls have had their afternoon “rest” or activity time. (an opportunity for us all to decompress alone)
-We sleep in till 7:30am
-We had a morning activity that required sunscreen
-We got fish tacos from a taqueria
-We got to watch the sunset
-We got to say our “Dziękujemy“ (gratitude/ thank you’s) before dinner
-We tried a new grocery store
There’s a bumper sticker here in Baja that says: “No Bad Days”, but I think those people don’t have little kids screaming in their faces because their shoes have sand in them
ON A BAD VAN DAY these might happen:
-I’m tired of figuring out how to enhance beans and rice….I love beans and rice but hate getting into a cooking rut.
-We struggle to time our errands and the girls start slinging demands and they meltdown because they are HANGRY.
-We find we have a mouse!
-An engine component breaks and needs pretty immediate diagnosing
-The girls refuse to try snorkeling…after we spent 30 mins down a gravel road and another 30 mins getting setup on the beach and 15 mins slathering them in sunscreen.
Some moments I feel so exasperated. When they’re demanding things of us and I know we taught them better in Portland. And then there’s a 30 second moment where the late afternoon sun is making everything glow just right, and I see them making a house out of our camping chairs. And I know VERY VERY well, I never could have orchestrated this in our backyard, found it at any camp in the summertime, or extracurricular Portland Parks and Rec class.
This moment is a product of their creativity, their own take on the situation we are in, and the act of processing the fun of Baja California. Always processing and definitely processing through play.
I fully expect “mouse trapping” to enter play in the next 2-3 days.