Don't Mess With Momma or Papa Bear (8)

            

          “That was the scariest movie I have ever seen,” I said to my friend Grayson as we were driving to his house. We went to another friend’s house to watch a scary movie for Halloween. I kept looking in my rearview mirror checking the back seat to make sure no one was there. I was paranoid after watching Insidious. I knew I was going to have a tough time sleeping that night. I would definitely need a light on in the hallway. I tend to take scary movies a little too serious and bring them into reality. After dropping Grayson off, I became even more terrified because now I was completely alone. I continued to look into my rearview mirror making sure that no one or no thing was in the back seat. I hated having to stop at stop signs and stop lights because that just meant I would have to be alone in the car longer, So, I did the California rolling stop at the stop sign so I could make it home quicker. I probably set a personal record for how fast I got home that night.

            I parked the car in the street and headed for the front door. I heard a movement in the bushes and that caused me to stop. It sounded like a tree branch broke, which means something must have stepped on it. I waited for a second and then continued my route to the front door. I was almost there when I heard a tumult of noise coming out of the bush. Rawr!” my Dad shouted as he jumped out of the bushes. He scared me half to death. I gathered myself ad laughed off my fear. “Now do you know to not come home so late?” he asked me when we got inside. I nodded in agreement and then headed to my room.

I was finally home and knew that nothing bad was going to happen. I hurried into my room, making sure to leave the hallway light on. I normally slept with the closet door closed, and it was already closed so I didn’t think anything of it. I laid in bed facing the wall, comforted by the peace of my home, but terrified by the movie. I kept thinking of different scenes in the movie that scared me the most. I couldn’t keep my eyes closed for more than a minute. Each time I would try to close them I would think of a different scene from the movie.

            As I laid on my bed trying to fall asleep, I heard my closet door open . . . At this point I was more scared than I had ever been in my life. “Boo,” my mom said at a tone just above a whisper as she made her way out of the closet. My heart was beating so fast that I was struggling to catch my breathe. My mom laughed as she watched me gather myself from being scared so badly. My mom then asked me the same question that my Dad had asked me fifteen minutes earlier, “Now do you know to not come home so late?” I now figured out what my parents were trying to do. They wanted to punish me for coming home so late, especially since it was a school night. Their punishment for me was to scare me half to death! They got me good. That Halloween will always be remembered as the scariest Halloween I have ever experienced.

My parents had a house rule that cell phones must be left downstairs at night. Well I knew I wouldn’t be sleeping much that night, so I convinced my mom to let me keep my cell phone in my bedroom with me for that night. She hugged me good night and went downstairs to bed. I made sure to keep the hallway light on. I was up for a long time before I finally fell asleep. I woke up relieved that the previous night was in the past.

            I thought that my worries of being scared were over, but boy was I wrong. The next day I came home to an empty house after football practice. I was a little nervous and hesitant as I went towards my room. No one else was home and I was still a little scared from the events of the previous night. I headed to my room to change and get started on some homework. To my surprise my mother had left a hideous, scary, Egyptian mask lying on my pillow. She must have thought she was so funny. To add to her humorous act, she laid out a shirt and pants as if the mask had a body. I was so freaked out that I didn’t even enter my room. I called my mom and she answered the phone laughing. She had yet again gotten me good for coming home so late. I stayed in the clothes I had on and did my homework in the game room. I didn’t dare enter my room without anyone else in the house. I was still freaked out when it came time for bed.  I knew it was going to be a tough night of sleep again, so I chose to sleep on the extra bed in my brother’s room. I felt less scared that way.

            My scares were finally over the next day. I didn’t have to worry about my parents or anyone else pulling tricks on me. They had scared me half to death more than once and knew that I had learned my lesson. I wouldn’t have to worry about my parents scaring me anymore, but I would always remember them scaring me two days in a row. They taught me to be home by curfew in a very clever way. I planned on never being late for curfew again. If I were going to be late I would make sure to ask for permission, and if I didn’t get permission to come home a little later then I would drop whatever it was that I was doing and head home to make sure to be home by curfew. I did not want to find out if my parents could come up with another clever way to teach me the importance of being home before my curfew.

I had learned my lesson and would not need to be taught that lesson again. I’m grateful for the lesson my parents taught me, because they kept me out of a lot of potential trouble. Nothing good happens when evening becomes early morning. It is best to be home where you are assured of safety from the outside world. I’m grateful to understand the importance of being home earlier rather than later. I’m also grateful for the wonderful idea that my parents have given me and that I can use on my own kids in the future.