Along Came A Spider and Traumatized My Kids

Along came a spider and sat down beside her and traumatized my kid for the rest of the day. Actually both of them, but for different reasons.

Today was the perfect spring day, birds chipping, flowers blooming and sunshine. We were all aching to get outside and enjoy it. My kids chose to go for a wagon ride.

I live in a hilly, wooded area which can make pulling them around a challenge. I don't mind though, the kids love it. Plus, people will often stop me to chat and say things like "Wow!", "That looks tough!" or "Good for you!". I often get the same remarks when I push my kids around in the double stroller. I don't really know what the big deal is, but their comments make me feel like I should be among the top ranking contenders for mother of the year. All for doing typical mom things like going for walks. I don't know, maybe I look like I'm dying doing it . . . which is quite possible. The hardest part of our walks is my driveway. We call it "The Mountain".  It's very steep and makes for great sledding in the winter.

Today, as I was using all my strength to safely cart my kids down The Mountain in their Radio Flyer, it dawned on me that I forgot to switch over from my flip flops to my sneakers.  A big mistake . . . walking these hills in flip flops is even more of a challenge than pulling my kids around. My first response was "UGHHH". My oldest asked, "What's wrong Mommy?".  I explained to her that I should have changed my shoes before heading out. Her response was, "But Mommy, I love those flippers of yours. Let's just go!".  I agreed. I didn't really want to hike back up The Mountain to change shoes. So off we went.

We walked to a house in the neighborhood that has a pony in the backyard. Lanie loves neighing at the pony and Charlotte loves mooing at it. We ventured on down the road a little further when all of the sudden I heard the most ear piercing scream of panic that I have ever heard in my life. It was Charlotte. I whipped myself around thinking that she may have pinched her fingers in one of the buckles keeping her strapped in, but that was not the case. A spider (half the size of a dime) was crawling on the top side of the wagon. She was staring at it in disbelief and shrieking every time it moved. It was the type of shriek you would hear from someone getting eaten in the movie Jaws. 

I began to explain to her that it was just a tiny spider and not a big deal at all, next thing you know it jumps onto my oldest daughter's sweatshirt. Now I thought, oh crap . . . this thing's a jumper and I'm going to have two kids freaking out over a tiny spider. I made the quick move of taking my flip flop off and brushing the spider off of Lanie's sweatshirt and onto the ground. As I put my shoe back on, my kids were dangling over the side of the wagon looking for the spider. There it was, on the ground, dead. My youngest started clapping, while my oldest began to cry. "Oh no! That was my friend! I don't like your flip'n flipper shoes anymore!"  

I would personally like to wish all the other moms out there the best of luck in the mother of the year contest. I have officially withdrawn myself from the rankings. I killed a spider. . .

If you've enjoyed my blog

please take a second to vote for us.

<< Just click this icon to register your vote! You can
            vote once every 24 hours too! THANKS!