And Still More Mousecapades

We caught another mouse yesterday (our third so far). Why have they invaded our upstairs, the part of the house we live in? Well, because the food was eaten off of the basement traps. I can't tell you how horrified I've been--maybe it sounds weak or silly, but it is very real to me.

Every time I get brave and think, "I'm going to go about my day as if there were no mouse," I have yet another miserable experience (like seeing it) and have to leave the house for the day again. Thanks to Nyla and Crystal for letting us crash with you this week. Yesterday scarred me for life. I was sitting on the couch (which was brave, because that is the last place Jake saw a mouse run to), and I was bound and determined to defeat my fears. Unfortunately, I heard a clawing and scraping just over my left shoulder and knew that the mouse was climbing ever nearer to me up the back of the couch. I held in my scream because Grant was asleep and ran to my bed to hide out there for a while, but not before I heard rustling in the coat that was sitting next to me on the couch. I still shudder thinking about that.

I finally prayed about it yesterday (more than my usual, "please help us catch our mice" prayers), because this whole mouse fiasco has started to run my life. I'm never home anymore because when I am I'm petrified and can't think of anything else. I have nightmares about it. I can't focus on anything else. I don't want to clean because there might be a mouse underneath a toy or bag. I never think about food because I spend every moment here trying to scrape or sweep up every crumb so the mice won't have any food other than the traps (which means we never have new groceries or meals to eat anymore). Why can't I just buck up and handle it like a sane adult?

So, like I said before, I prayed really hard that the mouse situation wouldn't be a danger to us (particularly Grant) and that if we were going to have to live with mice for much longer, I was going to need some serious help to calm my troubled mind and heart. Last night I did really well (though it's always easier when Jake's here), and today I'm on edge but handling things okay. It will be one day at a time. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever stop worring about this, even after it's been a week or a month since we caught our last mouse. But with the extra boost of courage and strength I'm now receiving I think I can work through it inch by inch. I feel so ridiculous sometimes at how out of control I get when it comes to mice!