Who Needs Billy when You've Got Ben

This morning around 6:30am, while I was downstairs drinking my coffee and having some alone time with God, I heard some rustling upstairs.  I thought it was strange because Ben didn't have to work today and therefore wouldn't have a reason to be up that early.  I reasoned that he must have gotten up to go to the bathroom.  Then I heard it again and realized that it wasn't Ben.  The dogs must have realized it at the same time as I did--they sprinted up the stairs.  I followed behind them and we were all quiet, standing at the top of the stairs, waiting for the noise again.  It didn't let us down--we heard it again.

So I woke Ben up to get him to do something about it (no way was I going to confront something in our attic).  He heard it too.  Without hesitation, he then proceeds to pull the attic hatch down so he could confront the critter.  Then this exchange...

As a side note, every year around late-summer / early-fall, we have a possum problem.  So, my first thought was that this critter we were hearing was a possum.  Those things are not cool.  They are mean.  They have fleas.  They bite.  You get my point.

(as Ben is pulling down the hatch)
Me: Wait!  Don't you have a plan?
Ben:  No.
Me:  But you don't even have a box to catch it in.  And you're only wearing underwear.
Ben:  So.
Me:  Come on.  At least let me bring you some kind of container before you pull the hatch down.  I don't want some rodent loose in my house.
Ben:  Fine.
(so I bring him an empty box)
Me:  What are you going to do?
Ben:  You don't want to know.
(he's right.  so I went downstairs and covered my ears.) 

Ah, my husband knows me so well!  He knew that he just needed to "take care of it" and not let my innocent eyes see what he was going to do.  However, my husband is also quite the "funny guy" (so he thinks).  When I was about to walk out the door to head to work, I grabbed my cell phone and guess what photo was my new background?  Yep, a photo of the culprit.  A HUGE rat!  G.R.O.S.S.

Some closing thoughts about this lovely story...

1) I'm SO happy I married a "man's man."  You know, a man who isn't afraid to crawl into a dark attic with nothing but his bare hands to catch a critter.  Yes, it's definitely gross.  But I love that he isn't a "pansy" who is scared to do those things. 

2) I'm SO happy that Ben is a carefree, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of guy.  It's a good balance to my over-cautious, very scheduled nature. 

3) I'm SO happy that we have humor in our marriage.  It's awesome to laugh together--even if you're laughing about a rodent in your attic.

4) I'm very thankful that today was trash day...

P.S.  Everytime I typed the word "hatch," I thought of LOST.  I miss Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, Ben Linus, etc...

P.P.S.  For those who don't know, my reference to Billy in the title is about Billy the Exterminator, who my friend Holly knows personally.