When I was growing up my mom must have loved mirrors or at least thought they were a necessary accessory to make a house a home. As I think about it, I believe she had a mirror or reflective surface in every room of the house. Mirrors can be amazing things, not only do they make a small room appear larger but they also show a person’s physical flaws without any forgiveness. They also can hide sinister beings that creep out on you in the night.
When I was growing up I had a full length mirror on the back of my bedroom door. As I look back on it, that was an awful stupid place to put a mirror as my door was always open. I rarely shut that door and hardly ever used the mirror on it. I always applied my makeup in the bathroom while gazing in the mirror over the sink. If I wanted to check out my appearance, I went out to the living room where another large antique mirror hung. Most of the time I even got dressed in the bathroom.
I have worn glasses since the 4th grade. Without my glasses my world is a blurry haze. Because of that fact, even if I have to pee in the night I always grab my glasses for the trip. For some reason, I have always had to see to pee. Even though I am a born klutz, I also have the habit of never turning on lights for these nocturnal journeys to the toilet. I have never been able to stumble to the bathroom without running into a wall as I went. Regardless, then and now, there has always been a night light in the bathroom to light my way.
One night I woke with the need to pee, grabbed my glasses and took off in the dark for the toilet. As I approached the hallway, I saw someone standing there in the darkness. My heart raced. The person was coming toward me. I was half asleep, but my terror of discovering someone in the house that shouldn’t be scared the living be Je$u$ out of me. I rushed back to my bed screaming all the way, grabbed the covers up to my nose, and turned the lamp beside the bed on to discover no one was there. My door was shut and I found my reflection staring back at me looking just as terrified as I felt. In a flash my door flew open and my mom was staring at me with a look of alarm on her face. “Are you all right?” All I could manage as I trembled was that I had to pee. “Well get up and go to the BATHROOM before you pi$$ the bed!!” My mom shook her head, said good night, and went back to bed giving me one of those "wondering why" looks which had the effect of making me feel like a complete a$$. A real a$$ considering I was a teenager at the time and old enough to not be afraid of things that go bump in the night.
Like Tigger in “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”, I discovered my bogey man was only a reflection of myself. Things in the mirror are not always as they appear until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.
