R.O.U.S. - AN INITIATION INTO COUNTRY LIVING

To preface this post: Gary Allan sang, "Life ain't always beautiful. Sometimes it's just plain hard. Life can knock you down . . ." The following experience wasn't beautiful. It was hard at the time and now, well, it's funny. This occurred some years ago following the birth of our third child. We had just moved to the farm and were living in 100+ years-old home. I was still adjusting to life in the country, when we encountered an R.O.U.S. (rodent of unusual size from The Princess Bride) It was the only time in my life, I wanted to pack my bags and run away . . .

 It was nearly midnight and my husband was doing work on the computer. I checked on my sleeping boys, kissed them goodnight, and proceeded into the living room when I heard the most unusual noise. I quickly took into account where everyone was - the boys were sleeping in their room, Adam was on the computer and my baby asleep in her bassinet. It clearly couldn't be any of them making such noises. I thought perhaps it was a mouse. I crept into the doorway of the kitchen and listened . . . there was that noise again - like a grunt and a thump. In an act of bravery, I turned on the light to find a . . .  rat - yes, a R-A-T!! That filthy varmint scurried across my kitchen floor and hid in the shadows behind the stove. I stifled a scream and bounded through the house, my feet barely touching the floor. Upon seeing Adam, I blurted out, "rat . . . kitchen . . . stove . . . kill it!"

Adam raced from his chair and into the kitchen. He grabbed the fire poker and began his noble quest to slay the rat. He got it cornered and then it disappeared. He raced to his parent's house and grabbed a few rat traps to place throughout the house. And then we waited . . . no movement for over half an hour. Sleep beckoned to us. I checked on the children again and said a special prayer that we would be watched over that night as the images from Lady and the Tramp of the rat and the baby haunted my dreams.

I was rudely and abruptly awaken to the sound of jars crashing to the ground in the pantry and Adam shouting, "You rat bastard, you son of a b-----, I'm gonna kill you!" It took me a few moments to figure out just where I was and what was going on. Adam called to me to come help him. Me? Help kill a rat? He told me to stand on a bucket and shine the flashlight on the rat while he ran to get his BB gun. In my sleepy trance, I hit my head on the doorway and choice words slipped from my lips, but I bravely held the flashlight until Adam returned. He returned gun in hand and took aim at the rat that was hiding behind a bucket. He hit him, but it didn't kill the stupid thing. Instead, the rat bolted and slipped through Adam's traps and back into the kitchen. How frustrating! Especially for Adam. He searched and searched for that rat for the next hour, but couldn't find him. We fell back into the most restless sleep.

We had hoped to find a dead rat in a trap, but no such luck. That morning over breakfast, I prayed that we could find "that" rat and kill it so that our house could be a clean house, a house of order. When I finished I looked up to see Adam with the biggest grin on his face. In response to my question as to why he was smiling, he replied, "I've never heard anyone pray to kill something, especially a rat." Well, I decided that we needed the Lord's help in ridding our house of this most unwelcome guest. Adam set more traps before he left that morning. I decided that I didn't want to be in our house that day. So I spent most of the day outside with the kiddos and ran errands in town. I prayed many times that day that we could find that rat and kill it, as did our three-year-old son. But to no avail, our prayers weren't answered that day. . .

The next morning, Adam woke me with a kiss and a smile as he left for work and asked, "Do you want to hear some great news?" He then told me about how he found "that" rat dead in one of our traps in the kitchen. I've never experienced such a joyful feeling as I did in that particular moment! I felt like breaking out into song, like Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music, running down the road in my pj's singing, "We're still alive and 'that' rat is dead . . . " I know that God answered our prayers, helping us rid our house of that filthy varmint. We offered many prayers of gratitude as we scrubbed and sanitized the house again.

Unfortunately, our experience with the R.O.U.S was just the beginning. In the next week, I would discover that mice had invaded our storage shed - marked their territory, pooped on clothes, and chewed through blankets. At this point, I wanted to abandon life in the country all together - (irrational Kristen was at the wheel with her foot on the accelerator ready to put it in drive). Fortunately, my wise husband was able to talk me through our dilemma to help me see the good in these experiences. I thought of the experiences of Corrie ten Boom in The Hiding Place. She taught that we ought to give thanks in all things. She thanked the Lord for fleas while as a prisoner of war, not knowing until later that the fleas proved to be a blessing for her and others. (If you haven't read this book, you ought to. It is life-changing). I didn't give thanks for the rodents, but I did take time to ponder on the blessings our country life affords us. In doing so, I realized that, for us, this was the best place to raise our family (rodents and all).

 We also learned invaluable lessons: 1.) How to properly store things - Rubbermaid totes with the lids duct-taped shut. 2.) Install screen door to aid in keeping door closed because kids forget . . . everyday! 3.) How blessed we are that we have ways to rid our homes of varmint. 4.) We get to choose how we will respond to life's circumstances. 5.) God is aware of our concerns from the serious to the trivial. If it's important to us, it's important to Him. 6.) Outdoor cats are a great asset in controlling the population of rodents.


I consider that summer of the R.O.U.S.'s as my initiation into country living. Sure, it was a rather trying time for us - but I can laugh, and even smile, as I recount those long summer days. As Gary Allan sings, ". . . the struggles make you stronger. And the changes make you wise . . ." Those experiences (and countless others) have shaped me into the woman I am today and hopefully made me stronger and wiser. I thank God for such experiences. I still loathe rodents, but I LOVE our country life on the farm and know that it is the best place for our family.
 ~Love me~Kristen