Monday, June 17, 2013

Phobias



I never close my eyes in public. Never. Ever. Close. My. Eyes. In. Public. Not in church during prayer. Not during meditation. Not when I'm doing relaxation exercises with a group. Why? Fear? Paranoia? Anxiety? Okay, pick one.

That explains why I never slept in the hospital when my boys were born. The very thought of someone coming in when I was asleep was enough to sent me into a full blown panic attack!

Hospitals? Totally freak me out. The absolute worst combo there--germs and strangers wandering around. Did I mention I'm also a germaphobe? Yeah, I know. I'm the mom who carries antibacterial wipes EVERYWHERE and avoids public toilets if at all possible. And heaven forbid someone coughs or sneezes near me!! Or mentions they've had ___________(fill in with the latest bug going around)! That's enough to make me break out the germ killing spray!! I was accused of disinfecting my oldest child when anyone got too close. I did NOT! I just bathed him as soon as we got home. So there!

Yeah, I know, I know. I'm a little over the top. Okay, fine, a lot over the top! But (most of) those who know me, love me. Antibacterial wipes and all! Hey, I'm the one the rest of the group comes to for medicine and wipes when we're out in public!

And the most amusing part of this, I have three children, two of whom have asthma (not the funny part) and CANNOT TOLERATE MOST CLEANER SMELLS!!!!!! It's God's way of telling me to get a grip, isn't it?

Oh, and my three children are boys. Boys like dirt, creepy critters and the like. Scary stuff for a germaphobe! But I'm getting better. Really, I am. Yesterday, I picked up a turtle (with gloves on....me, not the turtle) and moved him out of harms way. As my kids would say, "Nah nah nah boo boo!"

Happy reading and blessings!

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Worms & Turtles & Ants, Oh Boy!

Worms, turtles, ants and dirt! That's what little boys love! We played outside yesterday. The boys were fascinated with our turtle friend. He's taken up residence under out deck for now. He ventures out when we're inside, then slowly creeps under the deck when the boys get loud and busy, which little boys invariably do.

Yesterday, as we played ball and such, the boys kept wandering over to "check" on our friend. This involved sneaking up on the poor turtle and dropping leaves and small twigs on him. One of my twins kept getting closer....braver. Then, SNAP! The turtle had endured enough. He snapped at the stick my little guy was holding. The kiddo developed a healthy respect for our turtle friend.

Then, from across the yard, I hear, "Mom! There's an earthworm! Or maybe a baby snake!" (Shudder!)

I headed over and found an earthworm, moving sluggishly in the 90 degree heat. I carefully picked him up with a leaf, (Eek!) and deposited him in the damp leaves in the woods behind our house. Worm saved! And, thank goodness, no snake! Too hot for them to stir around, I guess.

A little later, I see all three boys poking a stick at something. I walk over and see them stirring up an ant bed. Sigh.

"Boys, stay out of the ants. They sting."

"Mom, you ALWAYS say that!"

Um, because I always mean it? Oh well, they'll learn. I did.

We saw no frogs. Perhaps, they'd heard about the boys in our yard? Or it was too hot? Anyway, I really didn't want to catch frogs, so I was far from disappointed.

The rest of the afternoon, we collected rocks and "arrowheads" and looked for dinosaur bones. Sadly, no dinosaur bones found. But we did find a couple of fossils and arrowhead-like rocks. Good times!

And in the middle of all the dirt and creepy critters, I heard, "Mom, you're the best! I love you!" Punctuated with muddy hugs and kisses, of course! In a few years, they'll be too cool for that, but for now, I'm loving it!