Batman Returns

Two nights ago at around 12:30 am, my 12-year-old daughter Julia came into our room. She woke us up and announced that there was a bird in her room. After a brief discussion I told her to go close her bedroom door and grab her pillow. We were in for some company. She came back a few minutes later and informed us that it wasn't a bird. It was a bat and it was hanging upside down on her blind. My first thought was "yeah right, a bat in your room..." I was too tired to argue, so after much giggling about "the bat in her room" she crawled in and we went to sleep.

The next morning, my husband went in and searched her room. No bat. When the girls got home from school, they tidied up their rooms. I was waiting for the "AAHHHHHH, we found the bat!!!" call, but it didn't happen. So where was it? Did she actually see a bat or was she half asleep and dreamt it? Goodness knows I have dreamt entire conversations that never actually happened. Off to bed we went comfortable in the fact the the "bat" was gone.

That brings us to 2:00 am this morning. This time it was my 15-year-old daughter Samantha. She is a very matter-of-fact kid, so when she came into our room she said "Yeah, Hi. There's a bat in my room. Can someone please come and get it out?"

So up the stairs we went to meet the bat. Sure enough there he was flying around Samantha's room. Julia had wrapped herself in a king sized duvet (so the bat wouldn't get her) and was jumping around shouting "I'm not crazy! There was a bat!" over and over again.

Brian opened the window and took off the screen hoping the bat would find his way out. He started to close the bedroom door, when suddenly I felt a "swish" over my head. Apparently it hadn't found the window. Brian grabbed an empty laundry basket (??) and tried to catch it. That didn't work so he traded it in for an empty shoe box and lid and proceeded to play "pong" with the bat. After several "pongs" the bat hit the floor. Brian picked it up with the box and brought it to the window. It flew away.

This morning Samantha reported that the bat kept flying into her window all night, trying to get back in (yeah right...he wants back in). Of course the girls think he left some friends behind..... I'll let you know if they're right!