“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!).
