This morning I stepped into the shower, pulled the shower curtain closed – and yelled. There was a spider on my shower curtain!
A HUGE SPIDER. (And, as I learned, a fast spider.)
I am weirdly proud to say that I didn’t scream. I just yelled. A little. Then I pushed back the offending curtain, put some clothes back on, and hollered for Annalyn to bring me a shoe.
I admit I stood there, shuddering and saying brilliant things like, “Eeuchhhh!” for a bit. But eventually, I used Mark’s car magazine to knock the Hideous, Gigantic Spider onto the floor – where I proceeded to chase it around with my shoe. Stupid thing was crazy fast for a big monster!
So yeah, I don’t really like spiders.
You might say I’m scared of them, but I don’t know about that. Do they creep me out and give me the shudders? Sure. Did I jump and shout when I saw one invading my shower? Fine, yes. Did I consider – just for a second – waking up Mark to kill the big bug in the bathroom? Maybe.
Fine. I’m scared of spiders. But look, I got bit by one as a kid and had a horrible allergic reaction. As in swollen, feverish, red stripes up and down my arm, cut our vacation short, go directly to the doctor’s office for a shot of something without passing go allergic reaction. Staying away from spiders just seems smart!
I understand that not everyone is quite so anti-arachnid. Wilbur the pig, for one, and . . . umm . . . does anyone really like spiders?
Charlotte’s Web was actually one of my favorite books as a child. I probably read it a dozen times over the years. Although, now that I think about it, the part I loved most wasn’t Charlotte saving Wilbur with her intricate web weaving. It was the part where Fern got stuck at the top of the Ferris wheel with the boy she liked.
[Apparently I was boy crazy and romance ridiculous even then. Even. Then.]
Are YOU afraid of spiders? If not, what makes you jump or scream or shudder (or check behind the shower curtain every single day from now on)?
I’m creeped out by spiders. I find them incredibly icky. I do NOT have the kind of phobia that, say, prevents me from going down a flight of steps if I see one there. (Nor do you, from what I read here… we just take of business, right? ;)) I am not, however, afraid of snakes. Or mice. And I rather like bats. So, I figure, you gotta allow me spiders. A girl deserves to be skeeved out by SOMETHING, right?
If they’re small and not in a place where I feel vulnerable, say the shower or my bed, then I can kill them without any problem. But when they come near my bed while I’m reading before lights out, I am decidedly more dramatic. The downside being I’m the only one around to take care of the matter. Blech.
It doesn’t help that TN has brown recluses and black widows. That horrid fact is always in the back of my mind, even though pest control said my house spiders were of the nonpoisonous variety.
This is so cute! I’m not super scared of spiders, but bugs in general creep me out when they’re fast and sneaky. I don’t have either one of those powers, so I feel at a disadvantage. I also dislike being outnumbered by bugs. If I see one ant … not problem … three … slightly creepy … a whole bunch … ick! But my real animal phobia … wait for it … birds!
I am not a big fan of spiders but I am not as afraid of them as I am bats. We have had 3 in our 100+ year old homes over the past 10 years (they like attics in old homes) . With the first one, locked myself with the kids in another room and called my hubby and demanded he come home from work as soon as possible to take care of it (he was working nights across the street). With the second I hid under a blanket and used my cell phone to call my hubby who was asleep upstairs to come down stairs and rescue me (I stayed under the blanket the entire time). With the third, well my son discovered it, so he was smart and woke up his dad and not me to deal with it.
Your post and the comments really made me laugh. When you sit down with a cup of tea , take a deep breath and think of it, being afraid of animals that small, does that make sense? Of course it doesn’t. You spy a spider, bug, wasp, etc. don’t panic, overcome the suddenness of the unexpected encounter, don’t call the man of the house, get a glass, a piece of paper big enough to cover the glass’ opening, get the animal under the glass, the paper over the opening and take it outside the house, release it and let it live the life it’s supposed to lead. After all it’s ‘all the creatures, great and small’ right?
Since you seem to be a TV junky as well, did you too think about Randy, Earl’s brother when you read Angela’s comment?