A memory played over in my mind. My Mimaw lived in a very small town while I was growing up. When I visited her I had all the freedom in the world to roam on my bike and have the type of adventures that I loved in solitude. I would take in nature, buy a blue raspberry blowpop every now and then and visit the nursing home. One day I was walking and there was a lot that had some over grown grass and I was so intune with my surroundings that I heard a tiny noise that didn't belong. I had to find the source. It was the smallest, baby mouse I had ever seen. He must have been scared to cry like that. I picked him up and stroked his fur and eventually put him down to join his family. Not a fear in the world had entered my mind. No thought of bubonic plague or rabies. All that was on my mind was comforting this poor little animal. I didn't think of him gaining a pound or two and gaining a very long, scaly tail, morphing into a rat. No, those are the thoughts that entered my sophisticated 28 year old mind.
This was a moment where I had a lecture with my self. I asked, What are you so afraid of? Why now and not then? What has changed since then? I came inside and told Brandon about the not so new guest of our ground floor patio. He laughed at me. He didn't gripe when I swiped one of his fancy pieces of cheese and broke it up in pieces and took them to the patio to leave for the mouse. This morning when I woke up all the cheese was gone. I was pleased.