The Great Escape

I suppose it was inevitable. I went down to the basement this morning to resync my podcasts and glanced over to the hamster cages. I had to do a double take. Then came the sinking feeling. One of the hamsters cage doors was hanging open. No sign of the little guy anywhere. A quick panicked look around the basement revealed no clues. The little bugger could be anywhere. If he figured out how to climb the stairs he could quite possibly be inside my cat. Not good. My 8 year old son is not going to take this well - he has not yet learned how to handle adversity well.

Me, I've learned through triathlon to handle adversity very well. I've learned it through training, and I've learned it through events. I've learned it through living life. When the picture on paper doesn't match your reality you step back, make adjustments, and then proceed. Somethings you can control - worry about those - do something about those. This is where you need to focus your energy. Somethings you can't control - let those go. For the things you can't control make appropriate adjustments to what you can control. Then proceed. Be ready to adapt and adjust. Focus and mindfulness. Zen rocks.

So I regrouped. The part of this I can control is the searching part. I came up with a comprehensive plan for the search. Quarantine the basement - no cat allowed, no kids allowed. Only people allowed will be those participating in the search effort. The search will commence with a systematic room by room search. I'll do this from a hamster perspective - getting down on my hands and knees. Where are the little holes in boxes, furniture, etc. Where would I go if I was scared and looking for a place to hide, or a place to sleep? I'll mark off areas with strips of cornstarch that he'll have to smear if he goes by. I'll leave out pieces of food in strategic places in order to narrow down what room he's in and to hopefully verify that he's alive. I'll use the other hamster to simulate where he might have gone, spaces he might have gotten into - could he really get up stairs, could he get underneath a door, etc. I'll search as much as possible at night since they're nocturnal and that's when he'll be about looking for food. I'll pause often to search with my ears as well as my eyes.

Hopefully the plan works. If not I'll have continue to refine it in an effort to find the little bugger. I'll do everything I can think of to locate the little guy, but I won't sit and worry about it all day as it won't to contribute to the solution. I can't control the fact that it happened. I can't control what my son's reaction will be. I can't control what the ultimate outcome of this will be. For all these things I can't control I'm not going to waste effort in worrying about them. All effort will go into the aspects of this problem I can control.

Wish me luck - I'm going to need it!