Monday, June 21, 2010

Reclused . . . I mean, Reduced to Fear

It was late. The kids were asleep. My husband had gone to bed. I was hard at work finishing my blogs for the week. Then I saw it. A quarter-sized spider not three feet away.

I screamed. I mean SCREAMED! The spider froze, watching me with its beady little eyes. I didn't dare look away for fear it would disappear into my house. I called my husband, trying not to wake the kids. He's a light sleeper, I thought. He'll come.

Nope.

I called again, cursing the tremor in my voice that made me sound like such a wuss. Again, and again. Still no knight in shining armor to rescue me!

The spider was getting antsy. I started to creep away. I realized I needed to kill the blasted thing or it would escape and haunt my dreams . . . and my waking life.

I grabbed the empty garbage can and stepped closer. The spider knew.

Zoom! It sped away like nothing. Then I really started screaming (I'm ashamed now to admit it, but I didn't care who I woke . . . the kids, the neighbors, the dead). I had completely lost it! And of course the thing ran for the pile of boxes in the corner (we're getting ready to move).

I was still screaming for my husband when he came sauntering out of the room. "What is it honey?"

Boy I laid into him. But I was in hysterics by then. Fortunately he could tell. He didn't make any sudden movements, and he spoke in a nice soothing voice. I shivered in the corner while he painstakingly went through every box till he killed it. Yeah, it was a Brown Recluse. *shivers again*

So now I don't know which I should feel worse about: that my mental state is so fragile I lost it at the sight of a mere spider . . . or that my husband never came running despite my bloody murder screams.

What do you think? And please tell me I'm not the only one to have such irrational fears!

And again, don't forget to enter my CONTEST here! Ends tomorrow at midnight EDT.

31 comments:

Christina Lee said...

Um, yeah...been there, done that!! Don't worry, you're ot crazy ;-)

Stina said...

Oh this is so me! I've learned not to rely on my hubby anymore (he's never there when I need him). I vacumm the suckers up. Especially since my hubby is the one who empties the vacuum flow system. ;)

JE said...

I'm not afraid of spiders (I don't kill them, either...but I might have made an exception for a brown recluse).

But I wouldn't been more upset that the hubs didn't come running at the sounds of my screams. Heck, I would've!!

~JD

Danielle said...

I've gotten to the point where unless it is a ridiculously big bug or extra creepy crawly I just kill it myself. I would much prefer my boyfriend wake up instantly when I scream, but he never does.

I broke my toe one night, was on the floor screaming for five minutes before he stumbled out and stared at me blankly. So helpful.

Joanne said...

When you get afraid of a bug, try getting mad at it instead. And just think ... what would that spider do if you went into its house??

Natalie said...

Ha! That is terrible, but just a little funny too. I'm not afraid of spiders, but I am terrified of snakes. If it had been a snake I probably would have died of fright.

sarahjayne smythe said...

I hate spiders and while I usually leave them to go off and kill other bugs, if they're too close or too persistant in hanging around me, I have no problem snuffing out their little lives. :)

Anonymous said...

I don't like spiders. I shudder just thinking of them. They give me the creeps.

Unknown said...

Spiders usually don't bother me, but a Brown Recluse spider would! I won't even mention the story the orthodontic assistant told me about one of them!

Lydia Kang said...

Okay, from one arachnophobe to another--I TOTALLY GET IT.

Eww. Spiders are so creepy!

Abby said...

I once became hysterical when I saw a VERY large spider. It's not just you. Eeek!! All I could think of it was it crawling into bed at night with me and eating me or something.

mi said...

oh, scary!

and especially since it was a brown recluse!

Patti said...

My husband is suck a sound sleeper that he'd never wake up. And I totally agree with you on spiders.

Lola Sharp said...

Um, that is a very dangerous spider! Thank God, he got up, found it and killed it.

And I totally would have screamed bloody murder too. I'm a spider sissy. Ew. I don't like ANY bugs inside my house. I couldn't sleep knowing a bug was crawling around inside my house...but a biting spider and I'd never sleep a wink until it was dead.

Tana said...

I hate spiders! Once I ran into a tarantula on the side of my house and yet remained oddly calm. I kept thinking it looked fake. lol! And yes I killed it. Sorry about that. ;)

Terri Tiffany said...

LOL Spiders never bother me at all and there are a Zillion here but let me see a snake and I will outdo you in a flash! One tried getting in my house and I trapped it in the door--my husband wouldn't leave his golf game to save me.

Creepy Query Girl said...

Oooh, a Brown Recluse sounds dangerous. Is it poisonous? I'm not afraid of spiders. I don't like to kill bigger insects (little ants and mosquitos are ok) The bigguns i'll usually trap with a cup and pass a paper underneath and let them out side. I would be freaked out that my husband wouldn't wake up if I were being murdered though...:p)

JKB said...

I have the same problem with snakes.

I

detest

them.

Luckily, I now live in Berlin, where there are very few snakes.

This makes me happy.

BTW, thanks for visiting my blog!

<3

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss janet! sounds like a girly thing. ha ha. mostly i just catch them and put them outside cause i dont kill stuff. those little ones tickle when they crawl up your arm. that brown reclues could leave a real bad bite so dont ever pick it up. one of my brothers friends got bit and ended up in the hospital and had a chunk of his leg took off cause the poisen just kept spreading. did you know spiders got more than 2 eyes. the better to see you with. ha ha.

Unknown said...

Spiders don't bother me, but we had scorpions in our house at one point. Those things give me the creeps.

Jackee said...

Ha! This is funny, Janet. I'm a biologist, so I have to admit spiders interest me more than freak me out. But poisonous things creep me out if they're somewhere they can hurt me or my kids. (My sister was bitten by a black widow when were kids and that was scary, so I don't know if I ever got over that!)

WritingNut said...

Don't worry, you're not crazy! I have the EXACT same fear with spiders and I scream bloody murder too.

Alas, no one comes running either :(

Anonymous said...

You definitely aren't irrational! It sounds terrifying -- and such a scary spider! I encountered one late at night a few days ago, and couldn't go wake up my parents in fear it'd get away. I killed it with a napkin in the end, but that was after many, many self prep talks.

Unknown said...

I am so glad to know that I'm not the only one who has a ridiculous fear of spiders! My husband says that he I sound like I'm being murdered when I see a spider.

If it makes you feel better I recently had an counter with a beady eyed little bugger while driving to work. I would say the think was giant sized (husband says little!) I was screaming as we spoke over the phone, I made my husband pull to the side of the road as I did and kill it before he calmed me down and we again made our way to work. I felt ridiculous be even days after I made him check that there were no spiders lingering!

Janna Leadbetter said...

Oh yes. HUGE arachnophobe here. Worse than squeamish, worse than scared. They render me helpess and girly.

Glad your hubby *finally* came to help. ;)

Vicki Rocho said...

I hate all creepy crawlies! I scream too! I screech at moving shadows and floating lint balls and plastic spiders, LOL.

lisa and laura said...

HA! This post cracked me up. Especially since Laura is TERRIFIED of spiders. We can definitely relate...

Elana Johnson said...

I am the queen of irrational fears. The QUEEN. Just wait until my post tomorrow, and then you'll know what I mean.

Zoe C. Courtman said...

Dude. feel ya; I can barely *write* the word spider. And here in Georgia, they have freakin' mutant alien ones that are so big they should register as mammals. *shudders* The best spider killer? A Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (plus husband, who gets to be the one to pick UP the book after it smashes said spider). :D

MikeS said...

Ha ha.

Jessie Oliveros said...

I would have screamed at a brown recluse spider, too. We get HUGE grass spiders in our house in the autumn. They are ugly, not as mean as a brown recluse, but I want to run and scream. (Only I leave that to the men in a family. Pansies.)