raccoons?

Apparently we have some friendly neighborhood raccoons living on our roof.

They made a guest appearance after our small group dinner last night. Shelley and I went out to cover the grill and there they were, peeking in between the overhang of the roof of the house and the family room. I know raccoons are a nuisance, and not the kind of animal you really want hanging around, but they were little ones, and pretty cute....I made a few half-hearted attempts to try to scare them away, mainly by yelling (which, in case you were wondering, is pretty ineffective), but they were not threatened by me. They weren't even scared when we poked a long metal stick (the kind that you use to cook hot dogs over a bonfire) right at them....in fact, I think they wanted to play with it.

Seeing the raccoons that close took me back to fifth grade. When I was in fifth grade, my family lived in an apartment complex in Grand Rapids. I probably couldn't find it for you now, but it was sweet. At least to a fifth grader. Our apartment was on the ground floor, and we were at the edge of the complex, so not only did we have a pool for the whole summer, we had a large forest out back. An actual forest....with lots of trees. It was a haven for my sister and I. Growing up with a botany-teacher/naturalist father, we had a vast knowledge of all things having to do with forests. At least considering we were 9 and 11 years old. We would wander through the woods (what were my parents thinking?). I remember finding a sandy creek that had clear, clear water.....and sometimes little minnows. There was one spot where vines grew between the trees and made a swing. It probably wasn't the most sturdy thing to play on, but we did it anyway.

But the best part of that whole year was the spring.....when we saw the raccoons. They had been hanging around all year, but in the spring there were babies. For Becky and I, that was a highlight. They would come right up to our door and beg for food. They would even climb up the post to the deck above us. They were pretty daring little buggers. I remember not being able to leave the sliding door open in case they figured out how to get through the screen. It was always an adventure, waiting for the raccoons to show up.

Which might explain why they don't freak me out. I mean sure, they get into your garbage cans and climb on the roof and can make scary noises (Shelley will gladly tell you all about that), but their saving grace is that they're pretty cute.

Which can not be said of possums. I hate possums. (While we're on the subject of animals that live in the city that shouldn't...)

Sometimes I think I might be a country girl at heart.

And sometimes I walk out of the house and can't remember if I put on deodorant. Do you ever have those days? And then you feel self-conscious for the rest of the day, because by the time you've realized you don't know if you put on deodorant it's too late to go back and do it because you're already at work.

Today was one of those days.