Trying to look fear in the face...Part 2

As if two months of stressing about a possible mouse invasion wasn't enough and then having my cabinets shoved out of their slots and the under-the-sink walls patched up, two afternoons ago I was sitting in my room reading when I heard what sounded like teeth pecking at a ceramic plate. A feeling of dread washed over me...the same kind from a couple months ago.

My "circus" of pots and pans had been removed ever since the holes were said to have been closed up with aluminum sheets. But I knew a mouse was scurrying across the kitchen counter top...I could hear the pitter-patter and you could say I was thoroughly disgusted. What did I do? I was ready to just leave my apartment. Take my reading outside. Instead, I called my dad . Yes. I called my dad to tell him how freaked out I was. There wasn't much he could do, seeing as he was in California overseeing a construction job, but he actually listened to me be sad and gave me advice. "I'm sorry there really isn't anything I can physically do to help. But why don't you pull up some images on the internet of mice and just look at them? Just face your fear of them. They are 10,000 times more scared of you than you are of them. Plus, they aren't snakes so they can't hurt you unless you try to catch them with your bare hands," he said. I don't recall really saying much because I just sat in my room just feeling sad, on the brink of madness of having to deal with mice again. "Don't sit in the corner of your room cowering, ok?" he said at last. "Oh and make a lot of noise because that'll scare them away. Start screaming or something. Sorry again that I don't have any better ideas. But really, look at what you fear and you'll be surprised that when you face it, you'll overcome it." Half of me must have blanked out because I cannot for the life of me remember any words that uttered. Possibly because I didn't say anything as I sat frozen in anxiety. We hung up and after a few minutes of rational thought, I peeked out of my "room" to investigate the scene of the scurrying. Nothing. Ok, I took one big breath and then another. I stepped out.

I walked up to the sink. No mouse. I re-washed all the dishes in the drying rack and proceeded to re-build the pot "circus" above the stove. I bleached the counter top and tied up the garbage to throw away in the basement. The phone rings. "Are you ok now?" asks my dad on the other end. "Yes, thanks. I just re-washed the dishes. No mouse yet," I reply.

Now, I bet you're expecting a surprising ending, a giant mouse of some sort appearing at the stove eating an ice cream cone or something. But no, no mouse appeared. I haven't heard one in the past few days. But per my dad's suggestion, I took it to heart to look fear in the face. Because I did choose to leave my corner and confront the more-than-uncomfortable possibility of actually seeing a mouse running loose in my apartment. To my luck, I didn't but hey, don't I get points for putting myself "out there" for the worst scenario?

Looking back at the phone conversation with my dad makes me laugh. It wasn't about being scared of losing my job, dealing with a problem as severe as a disease or even being evicted or being a failure at something. It was actually about silly mice! However, I'd say the strategy is applicable to various areas in life. Maybe I should start applying it in every part of mine.

Lesson of the day: Preparing for battle, even if the enemy is only a tiny, gray, furry animal, is halfway to victory.