Saturday, October 11, 2008

Along came a spider

When I was little, I hated spiders. I hated the way they crawled quickly across the floor, their 8 legs moving in hyperspeed. I hated them in high school in the shower, where I'd look above the nozzle to see an arachnid dangling in mid-air, its daddy-long legs swaying in the steam. One time I threw a towel at the spider, and flung it all the way across the bathroom. I hated how they'd hang from one of the three rafters in my bedroom, above my bed, building a web. I think they were just trying to tease me. My stepdad would run to the rescue, and carry that spider out by one leg, and throw it on the deck. Boy, I hated spiders, but they didn't deserve to die.

Friday night, I noticed a big, black spider, just chillin' in my bathtub downstairs. My heart skipped a beat, but then I breathed, and noticed the thing only flinched when I turned the light on, but otherwise stayed still.

"GROSS!!!!!" I screeched at David, "There's a SPIDER in the tub!!!"

"Do you want me to kill it?"

"No", I lamented. Then I went to bed.

Every time I've used the restroom since then, I've looked for the spider first. As soon as I see him perched beneath the shower curtain, I feel okay. At least he isn't running somewhere on those creepy legs of his. I just had to remember he was in there before I took a shower.

Today, I was watching television when I noticed David dashing out the front door from the bathroom, holding a piece of paper. He was saving the spider's life, putting it outside.

"I GOT HIM!"

"How did you do that? He just CRAWLED on that piece of paper?"

"Yes, I put it next to him, and he walked right on."

"I'm so glad you didn't kill him."

"I wouldn't have killed him, unless you asked me to."

Yes, we are good together. I'm glad he wouldn't kill it, snuff the thing's life out, just because of hatred. I hate spiders, but they deserve to live. I know in the long run, they do things for us we coudn't even imagine.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not afraid of spiders I carry them out in my hands. I helped my sister move once and did just that. She had these HUGE movers helping her. One screamed like a girl when I picked it up and carried it down three flights of stairs...very funny :)

Dan-Eric Slocum said...

I'm not crazy about small spiders. I don't mind the big ones at all.

When I lived in Oklahoma City--- they used to sun themselves on the outside newsroom wall in the late spring and summer evenings.

The little ones-- make me crazy, they jump around and and move fast and I REALLY don't like them.

Last Halloween we had a GREAT BIG FAT ONE living in the garage and I guarded his life like I would one of my cats. Sadly he left his web.

Anonymous said...

I used to hate spiders as a child, until my dad told me they were my "friends" and ate the bugs that would do harm to me. Made sense. I wouldn't like a spider crawling on me but that has never happened. I think they know if you are afraid of them, and terrorize you if you are!

Lisa said...

I destroyed a spider web this morning that stretched from my upstairs deck to the first floor. First, I admired its' symmetry. Then I destroyed it.

David can be so tender to you. But, it's nice to know you have your own personal hit-man, should you need one.

Kristin said...

Yeah, sometimes we have to destroy spiders webs as well, and I always feel bad about it, because I know they worked so hard. But as David says, "all they have is time," its true. I guess the spider will just go about its work.

Colleen said...

That was always the Catch 22 of my phobia. I hated them and wanted them nowhere near me, but I couldn't bare to kill them or think of them sticking to a sticky-trap, slowly dying. Good for David! Kris is the same way. He has been known to kill, but if I find the spider... his life is spared.