A terrifying night | 3.5 minute read

I’m 38 years old and, at this point, I figured I knew everything there was to know about myself. This week, at 1am on Wednesday, I was proven wrong. Let me set the stage for you.

The blackout curtains were drawn and my partner Andrea and I were fast asleep. I’m a fairly light sleeper, so anything out of the ordinary wakes me up.

And I felt something very out of the ordinary. First I felt it — a flutter. Then I heard it — a flapping.

I tried to shrug it off as a dream in my half-asleep state but, in my gut, I knew what it was. I just didn’t want to admit it.

I threw on the bedside light, waking a groggy Andrea, and looked up to the corner of the bedroom. Sure enough, there was a bat.

”There’s a fucking bat in the bedroom!” I yelled, stumbling out of bed.

Andrea came to and just said, “too bad we don’t have a tennis racket.”

How was she being so cool, so calm, so collected? I’d later find out this is her third (!) dealing with a bedroom bat. Sometimes I wonder where I found this girl.

The bat flew around frantically, trying to find a way out.

We opened the windows, removed the screen (by we, I mean Andrea), left the bedroom, closed the door, and went outside.

Outside, we could see its shadow, continuing to search for an exit.

Meanwhile, a second (yes, a second) bat — which had been flying around outside our house — made its way into the bedroom.

Eventually one left; the other? We’re not so sure.

Luckily, I had read a Reddit thread the day earlier about this exact situation. The top comment advised the poster to seek immediate medical attention because, as it turns out, you can be bitten by a bat in your sleep and not even know it. And bats can carry rabies.

I called Telehealth who advised us to go to the ER. So we went. And waited about eight hours to receive six total shots — two in each arm, two in each thigh, and two in each butt cheek. We also have three more followup shots over the next three weeks.

I don’t like needles.

And, as it turns out, I’m terrified of bats. I learned that about myself this week.

So, I guess the whole point of this is that, no matter what, there’s always something new to learn about ourselves. That’s kind of exciting, even if it means learning you’re not as brave as you previously thought.

And it’s good to have a partner who’s unafraid of the things that terrify you. So, I’ll continue to deal with spiders (Andrea’s fear) and she can handle any future bat encounters (thanks, babygirl).

The pebble

The challenge

Laugh at my misfortune. And, next time you experience your own, try to find the lesson (and potential comedy) in it.

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