Clock-Roaches

We are not alone here. We share our little two-bedroom university dorm with a family of what my 3-year-old son calls clock-roaches. These clock-roaches believe that the cozy warmth and soothing hum of the back of the refrigerator make it a perfect place to build their filthy nest.
    Clock-roach family and human family will have to agree to disagree.
Today we will have our weekly visit from our friendly exterminator. Apparently no one else around here has this problem, which was likely caused by the previous tenant thinking that clock-roaches were perfectly fine companions and no reason to inform the University. Exterminator man comes once a week and puts poisoned bait out for the little buggers to take back to their home. Apparently they die in their nest and their family members eat them, which in turn poisons them. I have nightmares about what the back of the refrigerator looks like!
Exterminator man cracks me up. He’s a short little thing with a constant smile and a slightly insane look in his eyes. He reminds me a little of someone from a David Lynch movie. He really seems to like figuring out how to “get” the roaches and one-up them. He makes frequent comparisons of roaches to children. He apparently worked for several years at an elementary school. He talks about how roaches are social creatures who, much like children, will share any kind of treat they find (which, again, is how the poison works). He says roaches are curious creatures, much like children, who will wander around the house when no one is looking. He also said that roaches, much like children, go crazy during electrical storms because all the ions in the air excite the neurons in their brains.
    Seriously, he said that.
I haven’t figured out if these little nuggets are meant as compliments to the roaches, or insults to children. I just hope he doesn’t start leaving “treats” for my kids when he stops by.
Apart from the roaches, I actually like our little home. It’s smaller than our last place, but it’s safe and the kids have a lot of outdoor space to run around in. There is also something kind of cool about living in a dorm again. We live here because we can’t afford anything nicer, but it’s really not a big deal. I’ve learned that it’s really true that home is where the heart is, and we have gotten good at turning any living space into a cozy home. Kids are good at helping with that.
I’ve also realized that no matter how low your standard of living goes, everyone has at least something they won’t put up with. For me it’s the clock-roaches. I’m not quite sure yet what it is for my husband. I have high hopes that the problem will at some point be resolved, and so does the friendly exterminator. My husband on the other hand has made peace with the clock-roaches and doesn’t even bother killing them when he sees them unless I ask nicely, although he does get a macabre kick out of watching them die slowly from the poison This makes me suspect that the previous guy, who was a bachelor, wasn’t necessarily gross. He was probably just a guy, like my husband, who has a higher threshold of things he’ll put up with.