Snakes in the Basement, June 2018

I was helping Favorite Daughter with her homework when we heard glass shattering from the basement. She glanced at me, but I pretended I did hear anything. Because, at 48 years old I realize that there is no way that a random noise in the basement is anything good. No matter what it is, it's going to be a bad day for me.

The second time something shattered, she asked me directly, "are you going to go check that?" And I told her no, no at all, and explained my reasoning.

My 10 year old daughter looked at me, scowled, and laid it out, "if you don't go, I will," and she started to get up."

So, shamed, I went into the basement. Of course the light was burned out, Of course there was water up to my ankles. I expected these things. What I didn't plan on was the sound of a giant wet "plop" as something huge hit the water nearby, or the wet sound of a fleshy body being drug across the submerged concrete.

By the light of my cell phone, I counted no less than three snakes, all unhappy and slithering their way to me.

I pulled myself together, and captured all of the snakes, removing them from the property to a nice swampy area nearby.