It was the Bats of Times

"There's a bat in here."  

In case you haven't had the experience, I can assure you that this is a lousy way to wake up.

Yesterday morning, however, that is exactly how I did wake up: M. rolled over, looked up, and gasped, "There's a bat!"  Sure enough, a small brown bat was rapidly circling our bedroom.  Fun times, this homeowning gig.  

We got Elias out of the room, I opened the window screen, and we shut the bat inside the room, in the hopes that is would find its own way out.  All the commotion brought Asa out of his room, where he observed us for a moment.  We explained about the bat.

"Yes," he said.  "The bat was in my room earlier."  

Okay then.

We made coffee.  I tweeted the experience.  I realized that my glasses were still in our bedroom - with the bat.  I drank some coffee.  M. came down and said, "I think it's gone."  

So I went up, took a shower, got dressed.  Let me tell you, it's disconcerting to get dressed - well, really, to get undressed - in a room where there might still be a bat.  So I searched the room carefully: behind and below every piece of furniture.  There isn't much in our room: we did just move, and there's no art on the walls yet.  No bat.  Okay then.

Late last evening, finishing dinner with Uncle Jeremie and Uncle James, the bat came back.  (The bat came back, the very same day...)  In the living room this time.  And the dining room, and the playroom, because really: bat.  So we tried to shoo it into the living room and shut the pocket doors... And the bat disappeared.  We tried to convince ourselves that it had flown out the open dining room window, but without much luck.  Uncle Jeremie asked if it was the same bat.  It was a rather welcome laugh.

We all slept with closed doors last night.  About 1am, I thought I heard the telltale flutter, convinced myself I didn't care, and went back to sleep.  But at 5:45am, when Asa got up and came into our room, he was accompanied by the bat.  Toddlers adapt quickly.  

This time, I was irritated.  Once again, we got the boys downstairs.  Once again, we started the coffee. This time, I grabbed my glasses.  The bat was in the boys' room, so I shut myself in with it, armed with a large blanket.  I turned on all the lights, opened the windows and window screens, and watched the bat circle.  For half an hour.  Ehow.com had assured me that turning on the lights would make the bat sleepy.  Not for the first time, I questioned information found online.  

It was a good thing that M. finally came in, because I was pretty dizzy.  The bat had landed a couple of times, but had not appreciated my attempts to help it.  Ungrateful little critter.  While I kept an eye on the not-yet-sleepy bat, M. ran downstairs and returned with gloves and a large bubble wand.  The bat landed on the top of the window frame; our first attempt to throw a blanket over it (as recommended online) ended with more fluttering bat circles.  But a net, jury-rigged from the bubble wand (15" diameter - it makes awesome bubbles) and a mesh laundry bag, worked to finally capture the bat, which was released onto the porch roof.  

All this before 7am.  And coffee.  

Dang nocturnal creatures.

This morning, after bat, after coffee, my closet pole fell down.  Annoying, yes, but hey - it's not a bat.