One method of overcoming an intense phobia is to face your fear. As most of my friends know, I am deathly afraid of BATS, ever since our first "houseguest" back in 2001. That was the one hidden behind the television stand, where my cat Max was hovering just minutes before. The bat with the apparent scratches on its wing as if something (Max) had scratched it. And the realization that just moments earlier Max had scratched me (unintentionally, while we were playing). We called our vet and his reaction sent me into a tailspin of anxiety, the type of anxiety you get when you overreact to something you have literally no control over. DH had to drive the bat 30 miles away to get tested for rabies, and I had to wait 24 hours to find out the results. The phone call came around 9am the following morning....negative. It was one of those moments of relief that you never quite forget. The whole experience was enough to make me feel sick at the mere MENTION of the word "bat".
Well, much to my dismay we were visited by four more bats over the next two years, and each "houseguest" was increasingly more awful than the previous (minus any more rabies scares). We finally found the source, a tiny space above the air conditioner *just* big enough for a bat to squeeze it's way through. I should also mention that the air conditioner was in our bedroom window. Which was right next to our heads. Ugh.
Fast forward to 2008 and an extremely loud screech that woke me out of a deep sleep. I tried to ignore it, figuring it was a june bug or a figment of my imagination. That is, until I heard the sound in my room. I woke up DH and we sat listening, when all of a sudden SWOOSH!! By the light of the alarm clock, DH spotted the bat flying around right in front of our faces. I dashed out of the room and into B's room (he was standing in his doorway wondering what all the excitement was about) and left it up to DH to catch the sucker. He contained it, and set it free in the morning, but not before D could sneak a peek at it.
D came inside to tell me just "how cute" the bat was, "like a kitty-cat with sharp teeth". It wasn't enough to convince me that bats were cute, but something happened later that same day to help me realize I wasn't *quite* as freaked out anymore.
We were watching a video about wild, misunderstood creatures, and the bat was one of the highlighted features. They showed a few pictures, and the little brown bat just didn't look all that horrible, at least not as horrible as my memory had made it out to be. They explained that bats are actually quite clean, grooming themselves regularly with their sharp claws. Ok, I'm listening. Then they showed a baby bat nursing on its mother, with it's wide face and big pointy ears, and I found myself saying "Awwwww, how sweet!" With a little research and an open mind, I found myself coming around to a greater understanding and even an acceptance of these little upside down flying mammals. Just not in my house.
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