“I’m not passionate about spiders!”In fact, arachnophobia (fear of spiders), just replaced “public speaking” as the number one fear of people. So you can imagine when we went camping with friends last weekend…spiders were the first thing on my mind.
When I found this itsy bitsy spider in our backyard last summer, I was determined to overcome my fear by getting as close to it as possible without screaming.
It didn’t work (at least that’s my hubby’s version of the story).
Last weekend when we went camping (a test of my courage!), our tent was by conveniently located by a babbling brook, along with plenty of trees, and other wild things. I knew for sure that by nightfall, the creepy crawly spiders would be lurking in my sleeping bag.
To my surprise, they weren’t.
They were on my pillow, in my makeup bag (an essential part of camping), and in my shoes!
Did I scream?
You bet I did (ask my hubby!).
Did I kill the leggy little creatures?
Yep…every last one of them. I used half a can of OFF spray repellent (two for one special at CVS Pharmacy), and wondered why I didn’t bring a caseload of the stuff.
Having a gourmet chef along (our neighbor), helped to ease my fear of spiders by distracting me with such delicacies as homemade soft pretzels, teriyaki chicken, and camp-style soup. But the thought remained…just how many MORE spiders were left in the forest?
I lost count after 22. But by that time, I actually found myself enjoying the size and variety of the leggy little creatures and found beauty in the spider webs that formed each morning—glistening in the morning sun.
The best part of our trip was the thunderstorm on Saturday afternoon that caused us to duck for cover in our tents where I listened to the rain pelt against our “window” while I read Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul and listened to “Amore” by Andrea Bocelli until I fell into a blissful sleep for two hours.
When I woke up, I found more SPIDERS crawling over me (two to be exact!).
Will I go camping again?
You bet.
Spiders or not…here I come!
I now have half as much fear and twice as much courage from itsy bitsy spiders than I did a year ago (that’s progress!).
8 comments:
Okay. Okay. Deep breaths. I've been camping often and never found spiders in the tent or sleeping bags. Ew. We have a fall camping trip planned and now ... ew! I HATE spiders.
When I was a kid I mowed the neighbor's lawn weekly and there were giant banana spiders hanging in the middle of giant webs at eye level. All over the yard. Freaked. Me. Out. I'd duck and run under them with the mower. praying they wouldn't jump on me. Whatever you do, DO NOT Google banana spiders. Nasty creatures.
That silk spider is one of my most feared creatures. I am breathing hard after just seeing the photo. There is a big one in our back yard and I won't go near it. No more camping for me. Thanks Connie.
OMG Flea...you can't say, "don't Google Banana spiders," and expect me NOT to do it.
So I did!
I actually stopped breathing...heart palpitations, sweaty palms, and the image...I can't get it out of my head.
That is the MOST HORRIBLE THING I have ever seen (I'm sure God had a purpose for creating them..."all creatures great and small...);I sure hope they do some NICE things.
I'm speechless.
Okay, off I go to my writing place...itsy bitsy spiders and all!
Greg,
I'm freakin' out at my own writing. I looked up "banana spider." Check this out; it's also called a "writing spider."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephila
Oh great, spiders and writing go hand in hand.
Maybe I'll stay out of the forest today when I write; I'll stick to the lobby...thank you very much!
Just so you feel better, I grew up south of New Orleans. You're not likely to run into a banana spider any time soon, PA or CA. And none of them ever jumped on me. Peaceable creatures, really. Still hate 'em. :)
Phew! That's a relief...can I start breathing again?!?!?
HUGS!
I have one of those silk spiders just outside my window and one of the banana spiders in our back yard. I will write about that soon and tell why I hate spiders.
Okay, Greg, I want to hear about why you "hate" spiders...I'm heading on over to the "Country Store."
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