Looking for support

Here goes:

Tomorrow, I will be accompanying my son on his annual school trip. He is in the 2nd grade and this is our yearly outing. But.....When I volunteered, the trip was to be to visit a spectacular museum (walk through tropical rain forest, watch the change in seasons etc.....) Sounds like a blast. At the bottom of the letter, it states "We will also be stopping at the Insectarium where you will be surrounded by over 150,000 insects". Yeeeech! Can you imagine??? My big plan was "Honey, you go on in and mommy will wait right here by the Exit sign, okay?" Nope....Not gonna work because I am also considered a volunteer mom and have 2 more boys to watch over so,....I must do my duties and accompany them!

The support I have so far is: "God, I wish I could be there to videotape this!" and also the occasional chuckle and "Have a great time!".

There has just got to be a special place in Heaven for mommies that get through things like this. Right?

Or am I really the only one afraid of anything that flies, crawls or (gulp) slithers????

The only one who envies me right now is Whiskers!

Honey you are BRAVE!! Just the thought of that makes me itch with the feeling of buggies crawling on me. Ewwwwww!!

It's great though that you are willing(or unwilling however you look at it) to over come your fears to go on a school trip with your son.

BTW my kitty Fallon is very jealous!!

Don't worry - they will all be safely contained. You won't have to touch any of them. Look on the brightside, some exotic bugs are very beautiful. They should also have some gorgeous butterflies. Try to look on that bright side and think how cool you son and his friend's will find you if you go and put on a brave face!

You will find strengh in being the one who reassures the kids. I'm sure the insects will not be able to get any where near you. I'm terrified of snakes, but I went to a snake exhibit without fear; they were behind glass. It's strange, but when I had the children here at night, even though they were young adults, I felt protective and strong. I felt much more nervous when I was alone and didn't have anyone left to protect. You'll be fine, Mom. You're a mother!

Gosh this reminds me so much of my best friend. She hates/is terrified of toads that invade her yard and home in rural Nebraska. I saw her jump from a sitting position at least 8 feet across the room in one leap to the couch when her kitty Dice brought one in the living room to play with. That was just a little toad.

So now she is blessed with 3 sons. Little boys think toads are just the bomb. She has had to really steel herself and not completely freak out when Phillip, the oldest, has brought them in. *Glance down. "Yes, Phillip, it's really neat. But please don't bring them in the house. Toads belong outside."* He's the type of kid who would think it hilarious if Mom flipped out.

Anyway, my point is, if she can overcome the toad thing in her own house, you can make it through a short period of time in a controlled environment. Trust me. Moms have that amazing ability that they can't quite prove scientifically, but it is definitely there.

Oh my God, Vikki, do workers actually approach you with live "whatevers"???? I can guarantee I will have that "Don't you even dream of coming near me or else" look on my face.

On the other hand, Thank you adymarie, I just love butterflies! I will concentrate on anything above (please don't mention bats or anything like that!) and leave the below ones to the boys.

BadHabit, First, thank you for calling me "brave". I'm thinking I might just be able to! I will try to get a picture for Fallon and will attempt to post it soon.

Jeanie, you are my new idol. Snakes, even through the TV give me the creeps. I will think of your success tomorrow! (Somehow I can see the boys trying to reassure me!)

And valenhb, I guess if your best friend can get through this, I can surely make it through a museum or whatever they call it.
My last jump 8 feet across the room was when Whiskers caught a mause and brought her into the living room and dropped her at my feet. It was not alive but at the time, my only solution was to grab a heavy jar, throw it on top of it (you know, in case it "wakes up") And then I called the husband home to rescue me.

Okay....Thank you all for not laughing at me. I really appreciate it. I'm thinking "Cool Mom!!!" This will be a piece of cake! Right?:chicken:

Ghyslaine~

I hereby pass the mommy trophy on to you. I thought I was doing a big thing by killing a gigantic spider the other night for my son, the arachnophobic.

Those insects are behind glass or something, right? I don't know if I could do it. Luckily, I don't have any children going to an Insectarium. What crazy person decided this would be fun for you? I don't know what would be worse, all those creepy-crawlies, or a bunch of screaming kids, which you know will happen.

Good luck, I'm interested to hear how it goes.

When I was still married, I asked hubby to do all kinds of things like that.

Now that it's just me, I don't even make that little startled scream, I just take care of it.

You'd be amazed at what you can do when you have to. You'll be fine. My daughter (6 years old) brings me bugs all the time, I sometimes look at them, then send them back outside. Now she cries sometimes because she thinks of them as pets, but I point out that the cats will eat them anyway and she gets over it pretty quickly.

Thank you all for your support and making me feel like I am not alone in having these feelings.

I agree that as a mom, there is just so much stuff that you probably never imagined you'd ever have to do and you just do it because it's not anything in which you are given the choice "to do or not to do".

3sacrowd: Having my children bring me bugs? They wouldn't dare! Hats off to you for being able to grin and bare it.

Deb, I think we may want to hold off on the trophy until the deed is actually done! It may not go well enough for me to deserve one.

Bren.1 - I am hoping everything is behind glass(shatterproof!)A few have mentioned there may be some out in the open but I have not investigated this. Now that you mention the screaming kids,....YAY! Plus: Bus ride to and from there (over 1 hour long in a bus filled with approx. 35-7 year olds).

Vikki: I will look for the "cutest" safe bug and try to appear like a hero. Who knows, maybe there will be another mother there worse off than me who will actually make me look like the cool, brave mom!!

Goodnight to all, I will let you know tomorrow how I fared out.

Or am I really the only one afraid of anything that flies, crawls or (gulp) slithers????

Click to expand...

I am afraid of things that crawl and fly. I hate spiders the most!!

As you know, anticipation is often a greater burden than the actual scenario itself! You'll do just fine! By all means, follow AdyMarie's advice and think of the beautiful butterflies. A lot of insects are ugly in our eyes; but we're all of us Earthlings, to be sure.

Don't forget to let us know how things went. Good luck!



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I hope it goes well for you!!! I can totally understand your fear...I hate bugs.... but my hats off to you for going to something like this with your child, and taking an active part in his life!!! So many parents don't do this anymore. I am sure that the appreciation your son will feel for having you with him on this day, will outshadow your fears! You may even have alot of fun!!!

I don't hate all bugs-I used to work for an entomologist and we studied whiteflies. But I LOATHE roaches. I get the whole girlie thing going-inarticulate grunts, screaming and twitching. A few weekends ago, Ivo cornered a roach in my apartment (occasional visitors because of the coffee shop on the first floor). I don't know who was more freaked out-me, the roach because these big things were after it, or Ivo because her mommy was screaming and jumping around.

I fear spiders out of all things! Also roaches(they are very big in Mexico. About the size of my thumb.

First of all, The Biodome in Montreal is just about the most beautiful, amazing place I have ever been to (except for a few things I shall mention).

We toured 4 different forests (the Tropical, Provincial, Arctic and.....I forget) You actually do walk straight into the forest. In some areas, birds fly right by you. You can almost touch the monkeys. The only thing separating you from them is the railing. I was told to take my time and really look into the forest and I would be able to see quite a variety of creatures. I paused for no more than a second when I approached the area that said "Prepare to be startled". This was the crocodile's spot and after taking a quick glance and not instantly spotting him, I convinced the boys that the turtle on the other side was performing amazing stunts. It worked. We watched penguins dive (boy are these guys funny!!!). I had no clue that ducks swam underwater but was able to witness that. Too cute! The only time on this trip that I wished with all my might that I was at home was when we had to go through a tunnel and on each side of you, there were hundreds of bats. Behind the glass of course! Also, let us not forget the...snakes. (Someone must really like me because they were curled up in a ball, Nap time.)One was underwater in a tank amongst other humongeous fish. Never knew that snakes lived underwater either. But, never had an interest in finding out about all the hiding spots these guys have.

All in all, it went really well. I am still amazed that we actually got to really walk through these forests. I was expecting everything to be behind glass. I give it a thumbs up.

As for the insectarium.....due to the heavy traffic and the timeframe we had to make it back to school in time, we were not able to make it there. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. I really would have loved to view the butterflies. Hadn't thought of them until they were mentioned. But the rest....I have a feeling I have a year to build up to this moment. They've mentioned it might be a trip of it's own.

Next year, I have 2 trips to go on because my youngest is entering JR kindergarten. I really do look forward to this special "one on one" time. Working full time kind of makes moments like these "extra special". I just got a hug and kiss from my son and a Thank you for coming on his trip with him. That in itself would have made me viewing bugs all day long worth it!

After all of your kind word of encouragement regarding insects, I sucked in my breathe, told myself to be brave and then,tonight.... I killed my very own first spider ever. My son stood by and watched. I think he is still in shock.

Question: What are whiteflies?

Once again: Thank you to all!!!!

G. and Whiskers (I swear, this is her picture!)

G~

Glad you lived to tell about it. Don't ever move to Florida: the entire state is an insectorium!

Oh my God! Deb- I've been to Florida once. Hollywood Beach actually. Stayed at the Hollywood Beach Resort. Beautiful Place. But.....the Jelly Fish and the crabs (I know, they're not insects!). I mean, it was infested with them. The guys at the outside bar played a trick on me and went out and captured quite a few crabs (which,I found out after my second moonlight stroll on the beach, come out at night!) and placed them all underneath my bar stool.(The Pina Colada's were my saviors).As for Jelly fish, they just kept multiplying overnight. I can't remember any other insect so I don't believe any caught my eye (from what you're saying, I'm thankful for that).

There may eventually be hope for me but for now, I keep my gardening gloves on. The neighbors chuckle quite a bit and it's alot harder to weed. But, from city girl to country girl, I think I am taking "baby" steps and playing it safe for now.


G.

G., You have a victory!! You went, not knowing what you would see. You thought there would be insects and went anyway. Then you killed a spider. I told you that you're brave; you're a mom!

Hey, you did great! Way to go! Deb 25's post reminds me of when I first lived with people who weren't used to insects as frequent fixtures of the immediate environment.

I'd lived in southern Florida for several years before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force and ending up in the tropical Orient. The presence of insects didn't bother me, as I knew what to do: hold your shoes upside-down and knock them together before putting them on; glance under your bed-covers before climbing in the sack; et cetera.

However, some of the guys in the barracks came from more northerly climates where they may have encountered one or two insects per week (and at some distance). This one fellow in particular always freaked out whenever he'd discover a crawling insect in a drawer, or a flying insect in an enclosed space.

I'd always laugh at his reaction! Oh, well. (He didn't care much for small reptiles, either.)

:laughing: :laughing2

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