How I Keep My Heart in Shape

Ever since I can remember, Kyle and I have loved startling the heck out of each other; jumping from around corners and saying, "Boo!" or just standing silently in a darkened room for the other to walk in and get startled. I LOVE the adrenalin rush it gives me to be suddenly scared like that (unless I am in a bad mood or what I call "ugly-hungry.") Don't stalk me, or knock on my windows late at night, but I love a quick startle that is over quickly and doesn't make me feel unsafe. Kyle and I have an agreement that it's okay to do this to each other; we don't do it every day or anything, just once in a while. And he's not allowed to do it when I'm in a bad mood. (So far, he's always respected this boundary.)

So, when I brought Tony and Judith home (see yesterday's post) I knew just what to do. Kyle wasn't home. I placed Tony in front of the deck window, facing in, so that Kyle would see him right when he walked in the house. I placed Judith in Kyle's shower upstairs.

Remember, I told you yesterday that if you're not expecting to see Tony Danza at your house, when you first see him, you think he's a stranger, and running into him in your house can give you quite a jolt. It may not surprise some people who know me that before Kyle came home, as I went about my normal activities in the house, I more than once found myself jumping in fear of the stranger on the deck, because I kept forgetting about him. (Yeah, I'm an airhead like that.)

So, Kyle (age 13 at the time) walks in the door and screams like a girl the second he sees Tony. And, of course, I LMAO! He recovered fairly quickly and congratulated me on the excellent scare I had given him. He said that Tony was "creepy," and put him out in the garage. Several minutes later, he went upstairs to his room (and the bathroom). I can't tell you how fun it was to wait in anticipation for the howling shriek, and he did not disappoint. MAN, that was funny!

Kyle got over it quickly and put Judith in the garage, too. He got the last laugh that night, though, when I came out of my master bathroom an hour later to find Tony in my darkened bedroom. Of course, I screamed, and Kyle LHAO. We had to call a truce that night, and the next day, I sent Tony on his neighborhood walkabout.

It's been a couple of years now since Tony arrived, and he is right now outside in the garage. I think I will play a little prank on Kyle before I send Tony to a neighbor's tomorrow. In fact, I'll videotape it. Keep your fingers crossed that it turns out!

P.S. Speaking of being scared, a bloggy friend of mine has posted 100 Things about herself. One of the things she wrote is that she would love to visit an actual haunted house. For more interesting tidbits and to help her reach her goal of 100 comments, go check out Our Crooked Tree and enter to win $100 in honor of her 100th post!