HappyMama

I knew I was arachnaphobic even before the movie came out. I am trying to hide that irrational aspect of my psyche from my children, but some days it is hard.

My 3yo loves bugs. He catches the crickets in our basement without hesitation and throws them outside for me. Tonight I was sitting outside watching the boys play in the gorgeous nearly-autumn weather when he walks over to me and thrusts his hand in my face, saying “look, mom!” and in the process drops a daddy-long-leg spider on my knee. It was a good thing I didn’t drop the baby when I jumped up.

“Oh my, you caught another spider.” (translate: that’s so, so gross.)
“Drop it in the pool, and see if it can swim.” (translate: I hope it can’t.)

It can’t, but Joey is there to save the day. He plays with it a while longer, and then decides it might like to be put down in the grass. Unfortunately for the spider, by the time of his release, he has lost one of his legs, which remains behind in the palm of my sons hand. “Look, mom, the leg is still moving!” It was. It continued to move for another, oh, 4 seconds. It was really weird. And interesting. But still so, so gross.