Oh Deer!

I tend to be a light sleeper while I am camping. It probably has something to do with my extreme fear of a bear visiting our campsite. Last night, I thought my fear had been realized. I woke to the sound of an animal – I was sure of it. Well, mostly sure. I waited a until I was positive before I woke Kendra. Usually when I do this, Kendra rolls her eyes and tells me to go back to sleep. However, this time she froze. That’s when I knew to be scared.

Kendra is usually my litmus test for fear. If we are flying, I tend to think every bump is a sign of imminent doom. While I am panicking, gripping the armrest with unnatural strength, Kendra is usually snoring. Only once has she ever been nervous – when we were struck by lightening on a flight home from San Francisco a few years ago. Last night was only the second time I have seen Kendra scared.

We held our breath as we tried to identify what was making the scratching and chewing sounds just outside our tent. I was convinced whatever it was, it was clearly trying to get inside of our tent. A million escape routes entered my mind as I went into protective mode. Whatever was out there, it was NOT going to get my baby or my wife.

I finally convinced Kendra to remote trigger the car locks. She did, and as the lights flashed and the car beeped, nothing happened. The animal continued to make repulsive chewing sounds right outside of our tent. However, our obnoxious noise did cause a few other campers to stir, and that set the animal off on a run. I peeked through the mesh door of our tent and watched as a huge mule deer ran from our campsite.

Somewhat relieved, though still feeling the effects of adrenaline rushing through my body, I told Kendra that sleep was no longer an option for me. The next morning, she reported that withing two minutes of making that statement, I was snoring. 🙂

Our new tent!