Leapin' Lizard and a Chicken Child

I hate lizards! It's not just lizards, but anything that's not supposed to be a pet, ie. cat or dog. I don't like any kind of bug, spider, snake, rodent... Did I mention that I hate lizards?

When I was a child, I was away at summer camp. I might have been 10 or 11. I was extremely homesick and wanted nothing more than for my mom and dad to come get me. Well I got my wish, but not before I had an unexpected and unwanted bunk mate. Let me explain.

This was your typical summer camp. (I guess - it was the only one I went to!) We were sleeping on metal frame bunk beds with just a mattress and our sleeping bag on top. There were huge gray blocks that made the walls around us and at some point the blocks stopped and screen took over. I can't remember exactly, but I do remember that there were no solid walls, and I was as close to nature as I wanted to be!

I will never forget one night it was 'lights out', and I snuggled down into my sleeping bag.

(I have the heebie-jeebies already just thinking about it...)

I was NOT alone!

Something was crawling around my legs at a very rapid speed. In the midst of kicking and screaming, I could not get out of that sleeping bag fast enough!

And I was on the top bunk!

It was no longer lights out. It was screaming and chaos by the other girls, too, because they didn't know what was going on.

I had a lizard in my sleeping bag with me. He wasn't big. No, no. He was tiny. Kind of like this one.



Guess where this one was?

Yep! In our house!

Last night, after our nice family movie time on the sleeper sofa with a fire (Emma Grace couldn't stay awake, so she missed the excitement), Jessica and Gib were walking down the hall to her bedroom when Jessica stopped cold in her tracks. It was dark, with a little light from our bedroom, but she saw something. We turned the light on, and there it was.

YUCK!

Jessica was freaking out! ( Gib and I weren't jumping with excitement either!) She started crying that she was scared and promptly jumped, standing, onto the middle of our bed. This is a child who plays in the woods all the time, has held a lizard before and loves to catch crickets. I think she was so afraid because it was in our house.

We've never had a lizard in our house before, so Gib and I didn't quite know what to do. We had different ideas as to how to get it out. He shows up with a Target plastic bag and the mini dust pan and sweeper. He was going to try to 'sweep' the lizard into the Target bag and close it to dump him outside. His thinking was that he could close the bag and the lizard couldn't get out.

I didn't think that was going to work, and I sure as heck didn't want that thing loose in my house! I convinced him to get the mop bucket. Fortunately we live in a ranch house. He covered the lizard with the bucket and slowly scooted him toward the front door. I was armed with the dust pan to shoo the thing out the door if it tried to run back in. (Jessica was still standing on the bed!) The lizard's tail kept getting caught in the bucket. I felt a little bad, but not really. I just wanted him out!

We get to the front door, and Gib tries to scoop and throw it out the door. It landed back in the entryway, and I promptly took over with my mini dust pan. Turned out to be a good weapon! The lizard wasn't moving, but I was adamant to get it out!! I didn't whack it, just tried to scoop it up and throw it out. It took a couple of times, but it was finally outside.

WHEW!

We were sure it was dead because it didn't move. This morning when we showed Emma Grace before church, it was still there. I was going to try to get a better picture of it when we got home, but it was gone! I don't know if a cat came along and got it, or if maybe it was just in shock after what we put it through and the shock had finally worn off! I don't know, but that lizard disappeared somehow.

Good riddance!
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I'm about to start working on the rest of Emma Grace's story for tomorrow. I can't believe she will be six! I have a really busy day tomorrow, so I might not get it posted until tomorrow night, but do check back! She is truly a miracle!!

Love,
Tonya