Beware the Friendly Raccoon!

It was an unusually quiet night, the rain falling slow but steady. I had just been released from my rocking chair after a warm meal of Kid's Essentials Boost and Cheetos and my Mama was getting the house squared away for nighttime. Dada was out at the store.

Ready to feed our cat, Sasha, I heard Mama open the door to the garage and ran for the back of the house where I knew I'd find her. But while hurrying to get there before the door closed behind her, I heard Mama start to yell. Something was in the garage that wasn't suppose to be there.

Hesitating at the corner going into the family room, waiting for Mama to sort out the situation, I heard the door to the garage slam shut. When Mama came back into the family room, she was on the phone and talking to Dada.

The only word I was sure about in her frantic pleas for Dada to return home to assist her was 'Raccoon'.

I thought to myself, 'No way! There's a raccoon in the garage! How cool is that?' I made a move for the garage but Mama intercepted me and prevented my involvement in the situation.

Apparently unable to wait for Dada's assistance, she took matters into her own hands and chased the intruder from the garage with a few shouts of 'Get out of here, raccoon.' Not a terribly threatening demand, but coming from my Mama, I'm sure the Raccoon picked up on the 'death-to-you-villain' undertones in her exit command. I would have run from the garage screaming, but the raccoon simply slipped out the cat door and back into the night, or so we thought.

After Mama cleared and secured the garage, she found the Raccoon sitting quietly on the back patio, watching the sliding glass door. When Mama opened the door to warn the stripped critter off a second time, it came right at her, not vicious or snarling as they are sometimes want to do, but like it was a long lost pet coming home for dinner!

Then Dada got home and this is all we have left of the Friendly Raccoon...