Rat Who?

I have been trying to soak up every last bit of summer. One of the many blessings of having an 8yo is that I get to live the life of an 8yo all summer long, right alongside him. We spent 3 sunny days on the beach last week; he frolicked in the lake, and I relaxed with a book.

On Wednesday evening, I took the train downtown all by my lonesome to meet Super Hubs. When I say “lonesome” I am being ironic. I relished the solitude from my comfy upper platform seat, watching the towns rush by my window, and devouring a yummy novel. Super Hubs met me at the Chicago station, and we grabbed some sandwiches and strolled to Millenium Park. We met my b.i.l. and s.i.l., sat on blankets by the orchestra pit, and enjoyed the delicious repast; good cheeses and apricot chutney spread on French bread, Italian subs, fried chicken and white wine. We listened to the symphony on this perfect summer night, encircled by magnificent high rises. Bro and Sis are a lot of fun, and we laughed til our cheeks hurt.

When the concert was over, Super Hubs and I walked the 5 blocks to the parking garage. The weather was magnificent as the light softly faded; a comfortable 72* with no humidity or bugs. When we were one block from the garage, I heard a pitter patter right behind me, and I turned to see a little rat scurry by. It came just inches from my flip-flopped foot, and I shuddered! Then we came upon two more ugly rats, one chasing the other, in the parking garage.

I am a suburban girl, and other than Petland, up to this point I’d seen only one other rat in my life, over 20 years ago. It was a ginormous one that lived by the dumpster in the backyard of the apartment Super Hubs lived in while we were dating. I am not usually squeamish about rodents. We’ve had pet hamsters and gerbils, and I loved “Ratatouille.” But disease-infested city rats that feast on garbage? A big fat UGH!!

It had been a perfect summer evening, except for The Rats. If our Date Night was a fairy tale, what is the moral of the story? I pondered as we drove home, and I had an epiphany: Ignore the vermin in my life. There is so much beauty from day to day, marred only by annoyances, inconveniences and toxic people. I’m going to choose to celebrate the sunshine and music and laughter. The Rats? I’ll pretend I don't even see them! Rat Who?