Today's entry is all about Bob. For those of you who don't know, Bob is our friendly "ghost". For years, I've joked about having a ghost in the house to explain quirky things that happen...strange sounds, things that are missing and things in the wrong place. (Remember, I'm totally a neat freak and everything in my house is labeled and in its proper place. Seriously...my spices are in alphabetical order and the clothes in my closet are hung in order of the color spectrum.) Mostly I joked about having a ghost because while washing dishes, the handle on the faucet would slowly turn off on its own. It started to happen more and more often, so Matt changed the washers and tinkered with the faucet, but it still happened...and still continues to happen every so often today. Then, one night last year, we came home from dinner to find one of the living room blinds open. I know for certain I closed them because I vividly remember doing so...and I am one of those people who can't ever have any blinds open at night. Ever. Slowly, more little things started to happen: things were in slightly different places, there were strange creaking sounds, and footsteps at night. (Matt totally says he's not a believer in anything paranormal, but even he sat up in bed one night after hearing what sounded exactly like footsteps coming from upstairs. I just shrugged and told him that I hear stuff like that all the time. Finally, I had some validation and he couldn't think I was crazy anymore...well, at least not about having a ghost.) So, that's when I really did begin to think we may actually have a house guest. Now I jokingly blame Bob when little things happen. But, I'm really not joking anymore.
Just before Christmas, while upstairs, I saw a shadow pass behind me in a reflection in the window. (I was the only one at home at the time.) I'm totally a skeptic on most things and try to disprove everything with simple, logical reasoning. (C'mon people...Bigfoot? That's just silly!) I calmly and quickly tried to figure out an explanation, but couldn't. After that little encounter, I told Bob that he's more than welcome to stay with us, but he has to follow my rules: (1) He can't touch me. (2) He can't come into my bedroom. (3) He can't come into my bathroom.
I'm not a scaredy-cat kind of girl. I don't run screaming from snakes, mice or spiders. (I actually scoop up spiders and relocate them to a new home outside.) I'm not afraid of being alone. I love scary stuff...the scarier, the better! I'm one of those people who loves to watch scary movies with all the lights turned off. (The only movie that I think is scary is 'The Excorcist'.) Bob and I had an understanding after I laid down some ground rules about no touchy and he'd been pretty quiet since almost giving me a heart attack at Christmas. So, while Matt was in India, there were two really strange things that happened. First, I went out to run the Jeep to keep the battery charged since we don't drive it in the winter. It was super cold outside and I couldn't get the engine to turn over. So I took the keys out of the ignition and let Cyrus outside in the backyard to do his business. While standing in the back doorway of the garage, patiently waiting for Cyrus, the Jeep tried to turn over on its own...without me or the keys in it. Imagine my surprise when I looked down at the keys STILL IN THE PALM OF MY HAND! Seriously. I'm not kidding. Then, the Jeep tried to start again, and again, and again (I'm totally NOT exaggerating!)...all while I was still not anywhere near it and with the keys still in my hand. I calmly told Bob thanks for trying to start the Jeep for me and went back in the house, admittedly a little shaken up. (Remember, I was alone and would be for over two weeks). A few nights later, Cyrus and I went to bed. We have a routine: I get ready for bed and then let Cyrus outside one last time before he jumps up in bed and tries to claim my side of the bed. So, I was a little surprised when Cyrus and I got up the next morning and there was a pillow in the middle of the living room floor. You may be thinking that's not a big deal, but it definitely wasn't there the night before. So, that's when I told Bob that he was making me a little nervous and he needed to leave for a while...at least until Matt came back. We haven't heard from him or seen him since. It's a little sad.
I'm hoping Bob comes back. I need to do some research and try and figure out who Bob could be...and even if he's male. I'll feel bad if I find out we've been wrong and we've really had a Roberta in the house the whole time.
