So instead of skulking away to bed, I pull up my big girl pants, grab a dishrag and get to work eliminating the mucky dishes scattered around the cabin.
Stepping lightly, in bare feet so as not to wake the bairns, I tread carelessly across the wood stained laminate, without a thought for the would-be predator in my midst..
Daddy reluctantly joins the clean-up party, when suddenly he exclaims, "Oh, s***!" He's crouched down across the cabin, getting a close up look at some offending specimen, and my first thought is (probably due to the nasty food remains on the stacked plates), we've been invaded by ants.
It was only a matter of time, now the temperature has warmed up enough to support their prevalent existence, and with all the microscopic food remains distributed far and wide throughout our home, by 'shredder' our youngest baby, who could blame the opportunistic creatures?
But then, Daddy's reaction seems a little strong for discovering an ant (even a big one), so my mind leaps to Black Widow spider, and I'm paralyzed in place. Oh God! Not something life threatening in our home - that's all we need! And I wait with bated breath, until Daddy confirms my worst fear.
"It's a baby scorpion." He says ominously.
And, I'm overcome by a surprising emotional response. I'm actually... relieved.
What the ......? Come on, you English, bug fearing Jessy! Where's the irrational panic, or the spine-shivering gone? I wonder at my seemingly newfound indifference to the ugly alien-like arachnid invader, as I approach barefoot, and hear my(strange new)self ask,
"Are you going to kill it then?". He stops me in my tracks in case the doomed creature is startled by my foot steps. I watch Daddy take a photo, before stepping nonchalantly on the wee baby scorpion - poor thing.
Ah, that's a bit more like me. I can't help but feel sorry about exterminating the baby creature. I finish clearing up the dishes, a little more cautiously, admittedly, but still barefoot.
It's just a little scorpion after all.
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