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Have I ever told you my groundhog story? Not many people have their very own groundhog story, but this girl does.
Picture me in 1999, newly married and living in a little apartment, studying each day in the house by myself for the bar exam. It wasn’t my first time away from “home,” but it was my first time being married. I was still a little confused about whether I was supposed to call my mom (who lived 4 hours away) or my husband (who worked 10 minutes away) when something went wrong.
I was making spaghetti for dinner (being the good wife that I already was) and was watching bar review tapes. We had a sliding glass door leading from our tiny kitchen area to the woods behind the apartment, and I had it open to the screen. The spaghetti was smelling great and as I was checking on it, I heard a sound from the screen door like something was rattling it. When I looked over the counter, I saw a groundhog!! (we actually call them woodchucks here) I just know that the smell of my spaghetti attracted him and he was trying to get in.
I screamed and ran up the stairs and called my mom. By the tone in my voice, she thought someone had died or was dying that very minute. After I explained to her what happened, she said “What do you want me to do about it? I live 4 hours away.” Hmmm… good point. She told me to go back downstairs and see if it had actually gotten in the apartment. What?? What if it was running around and started chasing me or something? I had an image in my head of a big fat groundhog chasing me around the furniture with its teeth bared.
So I called my husband. I refused to go down the stairs until he came home from work (early…so the spaghetti didn’t burn). At least I figured that groundhogs probably couldn’t climb a flight of stairs. He came home and checked everything out. No groundhog in the house. I know he thought I was crazy until….
A week later he was leaving for work and saw a groundhog running into the woods!! Sneaky little guy was probably looking for more spaghetti.
Panda says
I guess it’s kinda funny. But you didn’t say if he saw his shadow or not!
(ps: your commentluv plugin needs updating)
Tricia says
You are right! Thanks. 🙂 I will get that updated tonight. Guess that means it needs updated on all my sites. 😛
Lisa Marie Mary says
That is so funny, Tricia!!! I’ve never encountered a groundhog – or a woodchuck – in my life! Though I do in a way more rural community than ever before now, so who knows! LOL
I loved it when you mentioned not knowing whether you were supposed to call your hubby or your mom. Wow, I can totally remember similar feelings the first time I was married. The biggest flash of that for me was Christmas morning. I woke up with him, instead of starting the day with my folks. (Which was really dumb, because, it was my 3rd Christmas not actually living at home, but, I still felt that way.) And then also, I had to split the day half with my family, half with his family. It was a real shocker to the system, I tell ya!
Tricia says
I’m still such a chicken that even 11 years later I think I would still make my husband come home from work to scare it away! And it turns out that we have a groundhog living in our new subdivision where we built our house a couple of years ago. People kept spotting something odd in the empty lot and when we finally got close enough to get a picture, it turned out to be a groundhog. Who knew there were so many in the suburbs of Indianapolis?
Judi Moore says
It’s good that you hadn’t started the garlic bread yet, he would have broken through the screen. I’m guessing that the law review tape he saw playing was about illegal search and he just decided that newlywed spaghetti sauce wasn’t worth the rap.
Too funny!
Trisha Lyn Fawver says
That is hilarious! I don’t think we even have groundhogs in California (at least… I sure have never seen one!)
.-= Trisha Lyn Fawver´s last blog ..Interview with Lisa Riolo of Impact Radius =-.
Shawn Collins says
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
.-= Shawn Collins´s last blog ..Advertising Tax Generates Zero Taxes in Rhode Island =-.