Housesitting brings out the paranoid in me, which is why I will never live by myself for an extended period of time. Last night I curled up in bed at just the right angle to keep both the door and window in my line of sight.
Every ten minutes my eyes would fly open when that Household Appliance That Makes a Noise Too Quiet to Hear in Daylight But That Becomes Exponintionally Louder at Night would go off. Then at two o'clock, I heard whimpering. I carefully opened the bedroom door, but didnt see anything. I looked down as I closed the door and saw Toby the Dog staring up at me.
I figured Toby the Dog might ease my paranoia, so I let him in. But the scaredy dog took the side of the bed nearest the wall, forcing me into the position Most Likely to be Attacked. I wasn't having that (after two more HATMNTQHDBTBELN), so I shoved him over and took the Paranoid Position by the wall. Around three o'clock I think I fell asleep.
Thank goodness I'm still getting used to the new coffeemaker and always end up with super-strength caffeine.
:) I sometimes have these thoughts too. When Scott worked 2nd shift and we lived in our old house they were bad. I had a "plan" worked out that involved our fireplace poker. Glad I never had to use that plan. :)
ReplyDeleteOnce you get used to the HATMNTQHDBTBELN, you won't hear them anymore, in fact if you don't hear then you wake up wondering why it is so quiet. Houses and appliances make a lot of noises, and once you know what they are the fear goes away.
ReplyDeleteOf course, telling you that does make it any easier for you! Sorry! Better get some rest before the Mongolia trip, you will probably hear a lot more odd noises over there.
Earplugs work wonders sometimes...
I read this and thought, "Thank you, God. Now I know I'm not as abnormal as I think." :-)
ReplyDeleteI've been living alone for three years now, and I still get paranoid. In fact, my body thinks it's bedtime is two in the morning right now because I was so freaked out last week that I couldn't sleep. However, overall, it gets much easier, so if you ever end up living alone for extended periods of time. I think you'll be okay!
(Ooh! Also, it's not necessarily a good long-term solution, but a couple benadryl an hour before bedtime helps you get sleepy, and that helps you be less worried when it's time to go to sleep!)
ReplyDeleteI have also discovered these paranormal sounds in my new house, but my only solution at the moment is to throw a cat at whomever and then pray that someone is watching through my windows that have no blinds... (which is partially my reason for paranoia) If you lived in my basement we could have a knocking code and we'll make nathan get up with a baseball bat! Just a small advertisement...
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