Darn Bugs

Haha!!

So, yesterday, on the way home from work I had to stop by Blockbuster to rent the next series of the TV show that Steve and I are watching. Had to. I won’t tell you which one it is though, you might think I am disturbed. I am disturbed.

Anyway, you might think I am a bad mom, but whenever I have a one minute errand – such as running into the gas station, or like running into the movie store – I leave the kids in the car. I only do it if there are windows where I can see the car outside and only if I can find a parking spot in front of the windows. It is just so much easier to run the 1 minute errand by myself than to make it into an 11 minute ordeal by getting both kids out of the car, trying to get them to both follow me in the store, making sure they don’t touch anything, and then getting them back into the car. That’s a lot of work.

However, after my approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds run into the movie store I came back out to the car to find Tryn close to hysterics.

“What’s wrong babe?” I asked her.

She looked at me with terror in her eyes, “There is a BUG on my sucker!” She and Berlin both had gotten suckers from the receptionist at church right before we headed home.

I always try to take opportunities like this, where my kids are illogically scared of something, to work with it and show them there is no reason to be afraid.

“Trynie, it’s okay, the bug can’t hurt you,” I reassure her.

“But I’m scared mom!” Big crocodile tears start rolling down her face, “Get the bug off my sucker!”

“Sweetie,” I grab her hand not holding the sucker and start rubbing her arm, “There is absolutely no reason to be scared. That bug can’t hurt you and I am right here. I won’t let anything happen to you. You just have to flick the bug off with your finger.”

“NOOO!!! I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!!”

“Tryn, look at me, I am right here and that bug cannot hurt you. I promise. Just try. All you have to do is try and flick the bug off. If you can’t do it I will help you.”

She tries a very timid flick about two inches away from the bug.

“Now that’s good sweetie, but you have to get closer,” I encourage her.

She tries again, still a good two inches away. The stupid bug is just sitting there the whole time, enjoying his little meal of sticky sweetness.

She tries one more time, this time getting within a few centimeters of the bug and then screams, “Mom! I can’t! I can’t! It’s freaking me out!”

Hahaaa!! I had to turn away so she couldn’t see me laugh. Lesson failed. I had to get the darn bug off the sucker myself. Maybe next time.