Only slightly traumatized...

*If you aren't a fan of rodents. Or if you would like to pretend that rats don't exist in countries like Haiti. Or if you don't like discussing dead things. Or if you are going to be offended by me talking about vomit. Or if you don't appreciate people being overly dramatic.... this post is not for you* Consider yourself warned. Proceed at your own risk.



Ok. So. Here we go. As you may have guessed this is a rat story. (All of our favorites right? ugh. Gross. no!)

So here's the background story... When Daniel and Hudson came they brought numerous mouse traps and 2 oversized rat traps. In their stay here they caught, I think 5 rats and 1 mouse. They left the traps set and ready to go. (They left last Wednesday...)

On Tuesday of this week I realized the rat traps hadn't been checked. I told Boss Varis and he said he would do it in the morning... needless to say we both forgot. I've thought about it almost every day at some point, but chose to hope that if I ignored the need it would eventually go away on its own.

Last night I decided that it HAD to happen today. With the advice and encouragement of a few friends I decided I could do this. I don't need to ask for help from a Haitian. I'm a big girl. I could use a pair of medical gloves.... and cover those with a pair of gardening gloves just for extra safety. Also, I was assured that the rats would be "riggored out" and have no eye function. (I was a little paranoid that they would open thier eyes or something as I was throwing them away. *shudder*) This morning. I woke up determined to accomplish mission: Disopose of Riggored-Out Rats.

I went to the depot and retrieved said medical and gardening gloves. I came armed with an extra cliff bar to load the traps. I walked towards the location of the traps. I have never felt a more determined expression on my face. I started imagining what I would see, how it would go. Would I handle it like a champ? Or would I get all woozie and want to throw up?

I made another trip back to the depot to get the ladder. Slowly began to put on my gloves.... at this point I am feeling my stomach start to churn a little bit, and I'm alternating between being in a cold and hot sweat. Hot because its a million degrees outside, cold sweat thinking about seeing a rat, that has been caught in the trap dead for almost a week in this hot humid weather. Thinking about the complete and utter nastiness of this whole thing. Wishing Daniel and Hudson could come back and do this themselves. Or that they had never brought the traps in the first place. I mean, the rats were here, true, but I didn't have to acknowlegde them.

I took a few very deep breaths and climbed the ladder... step. by. step. When I got to the top of the ladder I realized that I would have to litterally STICK MY HEAD up in there so I could see. "ok.... deep breaths... You can do this, Noelle." I steadied myself on the ladder, just in case I jumped back, or threw up, or fainted... (I felt like I was about to do all three and I didn't want to fall down (safety first).

Timidly looked in the roof... straining to see the trap.....



..... nothing there. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! The trap had been set off but wasn't holding any rodents! I feel as though normal people would have been upset and loaded the trap again to catch the little sucker that stole the food.... not this white girl!

Today I counted that as a victory and left the trap empty! I took a deep sigh of relief and decended the ladder with huge smile on my face.

I was only slightly mentally traumatized by the scenarios running through my imagination, but I have no real rodents stories. Score one for Noelle!


Have a happy April 1st. And don't believe everything you may hear today! (Although this story is 100% non-fabricated.) I thought about writing a rat into the trap, but grossed myself out too much by just thinking about it. So I decided to keep the blog honest! I'm sorry for the the over-dramatized story with no real climax. But, I was too worked up to not share.

I wish you all a lovely, rodent-free afternoon!