The Little Black Spot

With Spring comes flowers, sunshine and little black spots.

Most people that know me know I do not like spiders. With a passion. There is a deep-seated connection to those nasty brown recluse spiders that taunted me as a child.

Growing up we had an awning by the outside door where they would like to spin their sparkling webs and hang out. As memory serves me they were the size of a soccer ball and so trying to escape through the only access door to the outside world was always a task that included at least 30 minutes of pre-planning. While I don’t recall driving my mother nuts I must have been quite the drama queen when it came to these spiders and trying to maneuver my way around and/or away from them.

Over the years we have managed to co-exist. Me with big boot or shoe in hand and them running like the wind as big boot gets hurtled towards them (only when in doors of course). It was fear that drove me & the boot coupled with the thought they might get me before I get them. Never an intent to harm an innocent, of course.

Fast forward to the present. I swore when I had kids, I would not burden my kids with my own fears. They needed to discover their fears without living vicariously through mine. And in keeping true to my word, with clenched teeth I cannot count the times where a spider has been spotted in the house, I have gagged a little in my mouth and then went on to explain the importance of spiders in nature and the world to these small imps. “They are not harmful”, “they eat bad bugs”…yada yada yada…all the while keeping one eye on the little black spot while the other eye stayed focused on my kids.

I used to have a neighbour who was terrified of spiders and she burdened her child with that fear. When the then 6 yr. old would come over she would make the most hideous fuss when she saw a spider and proceed to exterminate. I always intervened to save the little black spot and during those days saved many. Most importantly she was undoing everything I had fought so hard to teach to my kids. I became “Extraordinaire Spider Saver”. Imagine that.

These days when a black spot (be it big or little) is found in the house I take a deep breath and call my husband simply stating daddy has gentler hands to put the little black spot outside safely where it can eat ants & mosquito’s. When daddy is not around I no longer throw a boot at the wall but instead gently grab a tissue and either toss it outside or flush the spot down the toilet when no one is looking and before he crawls up my arm and sinks his fangs into my neck. Some fears never die.

Extreme, yes but we all have our idiosyncrasies. Over the years I have come a long way in saving the little black spot and allowing us both to coexist in a house where kids do not jump when they find one. In fact they love Dandy Long Legs and can often be found searching for them in the back yard.

If only they knew Dandy Long Legs have fangs……