Sneakin' Around

During my extended visit to Iowa, I have been going to work with my mom. She works nights - 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. So, in an effort to be on a similar schedule, I have been going with her for the first half of her night, heading home around 2:30 a.m. During the 4 1/2 hours that I spend at her workplace, I usually fill my time by walking the halls, reading, listening to music or books on CD, playing games on my computer, talking on the phone, attempting to knit, etc. However, last night I had quite a bit of energy. This was probably due to the 3 cups of Starbucks espresso roast coffee that I had earlier in the evening (thanks, Dad!). At any rate, I was a little hyper. So, instead of my usual calm activities, I decided that it would be more fun to pester my mom while she was trying to work. And I won't lie -- it was VERY fun.

In order to accomplish this "pestering", I first took her cleaning cart and moved it to another hall. I went back to the library and pretended to be reading when she walked by. But, as soon as she passed the window, I sprinted out the back door of the library and ran around the other way to where her cart was hidden. (I was wearing socks, so it was very sneaky.) I hid behind the door and watched her look for it. After a minute or two, she found it, and I had to cover my mouth so I wouldn't laugh out loud when she looked around for the culprit. It was very amusing. :0) Then, as she walked away, the idea to scare her popped into my head. A smile spread across my face as I tiptoed after her. The noise of the cart's wheels drowned out any noise my socked feet might have made, and I walked up beside her undetected. (This is fun, right?) I then put my hand on the cart and casually said, "Hey, Mom." She jumped about 6 inches off the floor and had this wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights look. It was so worth it.

Well, since I had such a great time with this, I set out to sneak up on her again. I went back to the library for a while (you know, to throw her off). Then, after she had moved to another part of the building, I began to lurk and creep around the halls ever so stealth-like. When I heard her coming, I would dart behind doors or lockers and wait for an opportunity to strike. I waited behind one door for almost 10 minutes because she kept stopping in different rooms. Finally, I decided to move in closer. I would peek my head around the corner, and if I thought she wasn't looking, I would run for cover behind something just a little bit closer. I felt like a hunter or a spy or something - very exciting stuff. Well, to make a really long story only kinda long, I eventually followed her into a room and only kinda startled her. The anticipation of it was much more fun than the actual startling, but hey, what can ya do? Mom was a very good sport about it anyway. And, of course, I had tremendous fun acting like a kid. It makes me giggle to think about the thrill of it all. I think I might go try it again right now...