Mice and Men: When the Men Leave but the Mice Stay

Sara’s now ex-husband, Greg, had been the designated rodent relocator during their 10-year marriage. But Greg relocated himself to a condo across town with his yoga instructor, leaving Sara and her newly single self to handle things alone, and spoiler alert, you know what happened next. Enter stage left, the largest mouse Sara had ever seen. It was nearly midnight on a weeknight so lifeline options to phone a friend were not available. With few other options, Sara did what any rational woman would do: she screamed like a crime scene witness, threw her slipper at it, and jumped onto the counter. ā€œNot today Satan!ā€ she shouted from the countertops!

From her countertop perch, Sara quickly realized that this option was not only not sustainable, it failed to address the problem at hand. Reluctantly, she climbed down from the counter and followed the mouse into the pantry where it was clearly heading for a food source. Seeing a large shovel nearby, she decided she could ā€œtake careā€ of the problem from a distance once she cornered it. Her moment of action arrived; the mouse was trapped in the corner. Victory was at hand! But as she stared at its tiny, trembling body, something unexpected happened—she related to the mouse. They were both just trying to survive and she just couldn’t do it. Instead, she closed her bedroom door, put a fortress of towels under it to prevent the mouse from getting in, and used her phone to research humane mouse trap options online. She found one, had it delivered the next day, and placed it in the pantry. Wala, when she woke up the next morning, the mouse was safely contained. Fearing it would return to her house otherwise, Sara put the container in her car and drove a mile away before letting it out in a nice field. As she watched the mouse scurry off, Sara felt it in her bones: she was going to be just fine. Greg may have gotten the yoga instructor, but Sara got back her house and her self-confidence.

What post-breakup ā€œwinā€ have you experienced? We would love to hear it and to offer inspiration to your fellow Split Sisters!

If you prefer NOT to see the mouse in the trap…. Try this instead!!