...meaning, it's almost THIS time again, too...

Cockroach time. They deserve no exclamation marks. In case the picture is not 100% self-explanatory, this is the sky-light in our closet/hallway. See the big little blob? Yep, the one towards the bottom. The HUGEST blob on there? A roach. A big, fat, disgusting roach I watched writhe around and die last summer as I traipsed back and forth cleaning the bathroom and doing other homely little tasks. And honestly, sometimes I'd go just to check if the sucker had finally died. It creeped me out to walk under him in his death-throes, but I couldn't stay away. I would somewhat veer around the skylight, though. I don't know why, I'm pretty sure the danger of the dumb roach crashing through the glass was pretty low, but surely stranger things have happened.

So far, as the weather's been warming up, I've smushed two roaches already, both in the bathroom, and recruited Z to smush one. Another one I was after panicked and fell into the toilet. I am very scary to roaches. At least to the little ones. I must say, I was very pleased with his cooperation. This morning I found one drowned in a puddle of water along the seam between the tub and the little shelfy thing for the tub...I'm sure y'all know exactly what I mean. The important bit is: ANOTHER cockroach. Sigh. They've all been in our bathroom, though. I guess I should stop feeding Z dinner in there, maybe they'll desert. haha. No, I'd much rather they were in the bathroom vs. the kitchen, but see, I KNOW they're there, too. How could they not be? The kitchen roaches are much sneakier, though, which is why I haven't seen them yet. They are bathroom graduates, creeping around my dishes and cupboards on their sly little roach feet. Part of me (a very large part of me) is semi-okay with the thought of un-seen roaches. The whole "ignorance is bliss" thing. Even though I know they've gotta be there, I can pretend that they aren't. Which maybe they aren't if I never see them...right??

Also, I'm pretty sure that Zachariah makes stuff up to make me feel better. Like, "there's no way they've been in those mixing bowls. Stainless steel is too slick for them to climb back out of, so they'd be stuck in there." Me: "Oh. Great!!" And toothbrushes. Would any roach really take the time to navigate up the toothbrush holder and the sides of my toothbrush (because somehow they would avoid Z's, knowing he has no beef with them) and then frolic about on the bristles? No, of COURSE not. If I thought for a second they were tippy-toe-ing on my toothbrush, I'd have it tupperwared in an instant. But who wants to live that way? Exactly. And that is why I will go on and tell myself that they're really our little roommates who tend to be somewhat lazy and will only go for easy things like the cheerios living under the fridge, or the yogurt crusted on Bran's blankie. This will not keep me from actively seeking the death of these little roommates, however.

Ah, the fridge. The magic place that is completely off-limits to roaches! Seriously, I cram any open box of crackers of cereal into it. Well, all I can fit, anyway. Rice and beans, etc., are sealed in those big ol' Home Depot type buckets, otherwise known as Bran's personal stepstool. The boy maneuvers those buckets like they're just another part of his body. Nothing is safe from him and his bucket. But back to the roaches. As logical as it seems that the fridge is safe, every now and then Z and I look at each other and say, "Remember the fridge in Egypt?" For some reason, the roaches, while smaller, were very, very immune to the cold. The brats were in our fridge!! ALL the time! Even the day after we cleaned it, because when we got there...ugh....I'm sure the previous tenants did NOT get their deposit back. Disgusting. So we scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed some more. That baby was shining!! And the next day...roaches! In the fridge?? After a day or two, and then especially when we realized we'd be moving to Belgium, we just ate dinner out every day. It was cheap. Probably not roach-free, either, but again, ignorance...bliss...you know.

Sigh. And so, after laying low in our winter camps, the war resumes... it's a darn good thing the beaches are awesome.