I know I have not been blogging much of late but trust me; I’ve had my reasons. Those of you following on Twitter (@Marijean) know of which I speak. I have only managed to update in 140 characters or less, not fully thought out blog posts. Not that these are ever FULLY thought out.
Anyway.
On Sunday afternoon, my parents decided OUT OF THE BLUE to pack up and get in their car Monday and drive from Illinois to Virginia to visit us. It is only the second time they’ve visited in the three years we’ve lived here, so I was happy to have them come out.
Honestly, (and um, hi Mom and Dad, because they will read this) I was a bit stressed because the house wasn’t parent ready and my work schedule had to be smooshed around a bit to make it even possible for me to spend time with them while they are here.
But, we got the house cleaned up, meals thought out, colleagues notified, meetings rescheduled and . . . the evidence removed.
What evidence?
We had a dead body that we needed to dispose of before the parents arrived Tuesday afternoon. Sometime Sunday I noted that SOMEONE had run over a squirrel and it was spread-eagled and quite dead at the end of the driveway. Monday night, my husband mentioned that we would need to “get rid of the body.” So at almost-the-very-last-minute the boy and I went out to perform a small ceremony. We had a shovel and a mission.
We were both a little squeamish about the squished rodent. Flattened though it was, the breeze still animated its fluffy tail, which waved in the wind. We scooped him up and then, intending to flip him into the underbrush of the landscaped area, we had an unexpected result. (See photo above).
With the squirrel suspended, belly up in full rigor mortis on the holly bush, the boy and I laughed until tears ran out of our eyes. (We did manage to bury the guy under the bush after this.) I have to say — it was one of my favorite moments with my college-aged kid. It’s true what they say; getting rid of a body with your kid really helps bring you closer together.
They say that, right?
Great story, MJ. I laughed with you and the boy.
But did you have to untangle it from the holly first?
Hilarious story. Reminds me of two summers ago, when a crusty old squirrel body fell out of the old tree in our yard. My wife and I scooped it up in a shovel and flung it into the farmer’s field behind our house. When the body hit the ground, it exploded into dust particles. We have rarely laughed as hard as we did that day.
What a great picture! I don’t know if I would have been as brave as you were.
Great pic! I believe I advised you to try to pitch it into the neighbor’s yard. Then this would have been their problem, not yours. And, yes, my conscience would be as clear as Waterford Crystal.
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That photo is hilarious! I will try to think of it whenever I am feeling down
Reminds me of when a rat was stuck on our pool ladder…unfortunately not dead but very alive. We had intentions to hit it over the head with a shovel, but couldn’t seem to bring ourselves to do this, so instead “the husband” used the shovel to scoop it and hurl it over the back fence (into the woods Michelle, not the neighbors!) and I would swear I heard “EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeee” fading out until the thunk into the brush.