about Mice on Roller skates

I am not sure when they came to live with us but, by the time we had moved to 83 Elliott Row; those little rascals had made their presence known.  It was small things at first, a favorite pair of ear rings not in their correct place.  A suddenly empty milk jug left setting in the fridge. A bottle depleted of shampoo, discovered after I had wet my hair.  I would smell cigarette smoke in our non-smoking house.   Since neither of my daughters was the culprit it could only be, the mice on roller skates.

Oh those mice were blamed for many an action those years.  One thing I had learned as a Mother was to allow my girls to save face. If, when questioned about an incident or action, they denied knowledge, I accepted their answer.  And once more we would heap insults on the Mice on Roller skates.

My daughters and I shared our home with several adults during this period, more because I was a sucker for a hard luck story than for any financial benefit.  This brought about the issue of liquor in the house.  There was a firm rule that neither of my girls was to touch any booze.  Occasionally some was depleted and of course the offenders were …the Mice on Roller skates.

When I recently asked my adult daughters about the mice, both feigned poor memories but were in agreement that whenever something happened that neither wanted to own; it was the work of the mice.  Vavielle told me that if anything was missing in the house I would say “well it must be those mice on roller skates smoking cigarettes" who took it!  By this time I had come to the realization that I could not curtail Leisa’s smoking.

The most contentious issue was the “white shoes". I purchased them for Leisa; they were leather with cut-outs and very attractive. They may have been Leisa’s but those shoes often went out the door on Vavielles’s feet.  Should the shoes not be available for Leisa, it was always the Mice who were blamed.

That was over twenty years ago, now both my daughters are older than I was then.  In recollection welcoming the Mice on Roller skates into our home, to be the culprits and to add levity and perspective, was one of my better decisions.