The Most Embarrasing Moment of My Life...Almost

So, besides cockroaches and hiccups I do have other fears. One fear is being surprised by a stranger in the house. I sleep with my bedroom door open for this reason. I like to be aware of what's going on. If someone breaks in, I want to hear them coming. This fear often leads to battles between my rational and irrational thoughts. Today was no exception.

I got in the shower around 5:00 p.m. I had just finished washing my hair when I was sure I heard a loud bang like the front door slamming. I knew that Myra and Amy weren't off work yet, so it couldn't have been them.

Immediately the internal arguments begin:

• "Erika, someone just came into the house!".
• "No. That's ridiculous. You know that you locked the front door."
• "But you didn't lock the sliding glass doors when you put your clothes in the dryer!"
• "Again, you're being ridiculous. No one is going to climb up to the 2nd floor balcony. And, if it was a door opening, it was definitely the front door."
• "You just admitted that someone did open the front door!"
• "Fine. I'll go check and show you that there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Besides, if there is an intruder, I would rather be the one to find the intruder instead of the intruder finding me."

I turn off the shower and hesitantly walk over to the bathroom door. I'm still fighting the thoughts that some crazed man is waiting for me on the other side of the door. Trying to be as rational as possible, I reach for the handle to prove to myself that there is no reason to be concerned. All of a sudden I'm almost positive I hear a man's voice. My heart starts to pound.

• "See! I told you! There is someone out there! What am I supposed to do now?"
• "Wait, I left the television on. It's probably just the news anchor."

I then hear footsteps. I am now frozen from fear (and from the fact that I didn't bother grabbing a towel as I walked out of the shower).

• "I TOLD YOU! THERE IS SOMEONE IN THE HOUSE!"

My rational side lost the battle. There was someone in the house. Now this side is frantically figuring out how to get out of this situation.

The footsteps stop and someone yells "Hello! Pest Control."

The internal battle quickly came to an end when the competing ideas found a common enemy.
All thoughts went immediately to " I HATE COCKROACHES!"

I stood in the bathroom and yelled back "Could you come back in 10 minutes?". I then heard the footsteps turn around and the door close again.

So, I am grateful for my rational and irrational thoughts that practice checks and balances. If my irrational thoughts had had their way, I would have never even closed the bathroom door when I got in the shower because I like to be aware of what's going on.
If my rational thoughts had had their way I would have marched right out of that bathroom to prove to myself that there was nothing to be scared of.
Thank goodness that each won their prospective battles. Otherwise, the poor pest control man would have had a bit of a surprise, and I would never have a hard time thinking of my most embarrasing moment.