Remember the time I was attacked by a raccoon?`

It seems to be the case that the higher you climb the military ranks, the more your job becomes about counselling and facilitating than anything else. Last night Austin didn't get home until 2 am because of some issues that one of his soldiers is facing. So, after William was in bed I was on a mission to have a highly productive evening. Peaches steamed, dishes cleaned, counters wiped, bottles made...time for lunches. I got out the protein bars, rice krispie treats, made some chicken salad sandwiches, and threw in a peach for each of us. The last thing our lunches needed was chips. So, I wandered over to the door to go out to the garage where our chips are kept and went to get some.

All of a sudden a raccoon the size of Reagan jumped out from under my trailblazer, flung its body off of the wall of my garage and attacked my face! I wrestled him to the ground, beating on him as hard as I could as he dug his ravenous claws into my poor cheeks and neck. I finally released his death grip and sent him scurrying into the dark night.

Ok, that didn't really happen. I opened the door to the garage, saw a creature the size of Reagan scurry out and once I realized it wasn't Reagan, and after the previous scenario had played out in my head, I slammed the door and ran around the kitchen in a frenzy as if I had just been attacked by the pesky rodent. I called Austin to tell him we had an emergency at home, but he was hardly frightened. He told me to close the garage door (which I had accidentally left open) and when he got home and opened the garage he'd scare anything away if any rodents were left.

YEAH RIGHT.

You mean go BACK in the line of fire? open the door again to a potentially looming raccoon whose wrath I narrowly escaped moments earlier? No Thanks!

We got off the phone and for a few minutes I was adamant that I was NOT opening that door. Then I realized that I better go ahead and get practice in bravery now because what if this raccoon comes to meet me again same time next year?

So, I bravely sauntered over to the door. Jiggled the handle about 20 times so as to send the message that I am coming and I mean business. I cracked the door open enough to see that there were no critters within 10 feet of the door, cracked it a little more to reach my hand in, pushed the button to close the garage door, and quickly slammed the back door. Generally we don't lock this door, but I thought better of that last night. Never know how smart a raccoon may become in a moment of desperation!

There you have it. I faced my fear. I stood up to that pesky old coon. And I won people.

**Reagan lost, as this morning I noticed a gaping hole in the cat food bag. Note to self: buy a tub for cat food similar to the tub for dog food. Second note: don't ever leave the garage door open.