the time my dad was a ninja...

When I was about nine years old my dad worked two jobs prepping for the birth of my two twin sisters. He worked at a factory full time and part time at Cub Foods in Chicago. Something I thought was really cool was part of his security training included learning different martial arts techniques to defend himself. For months he practiced with a professional and he would even come home and show me different ways to get out of a hold and etc.

Right before I turned 12 my family moved from Chicago down to Florida. My mom, dad, two sisters and I were all living with my grandparents. When my grandparents had friends of theirs coming in town, we had to move into a condo above their unit to make room. This condo was gorgeous. The hallway was lined with wall to wall glass mirrors that had gold trim and the theme throughout the whole condo was pristine white and gold. Not really something an 11 year old and 2 eight month olds need to be living in especially if you plan to keep it as immaculate as the owners. My dad was working the grave yard shift which meant he’d go to work around 10pm and get off around 5 or 6am.

 So one morning when he was coming in the door he noticed slight movement in the hallway. He immediately froze. He waited and then saw the figure move again. Knowing the person was too big to be us or my mother my dad got in touch with his newly trained inner-ninja and kicked the crap out of the person. Only there was one problem. When he kicked the person he was met with some hard resistance. You see, the person he kicked….was his OWN reflection in the mirror. Yup. You read it right. There was no intruder. No boogey-man. Only him. I guess he had worked a double shift that day and was extra tired when he came in and it was really dark outside. So when he looked in the hallway the mirrors must’ve played tricks with his eyes lol. He’s lucky none of that expensive glass shattered. There was only one single footprint on the glass from his shoe. Oh and of course all of the commotion woke up everyone in the house and we were more than happy to laugh at my dad. 

 Was your dad ever a ninja? Does anyone in your family try to kill their own reflection? Please tell me I am dying to know...and it'd make my dad feel better that he isn't the only one lol.

Photo credit: The costume land