Single Parent = Spider Killer!

By on June 29, 2017

If you’re a single parent, you aren’t allowed to be scared of things that go bump in the night. You know why? It’s all you, that’s why.  Strange noises, sick pets or kids, spiders…guess who gets to deal with it all?  Little ol’you.  Over the weekend my daughter came running into my room early on Sunday morning, somewhat hysterical.  Mind you I was awake, but because I could I wasn’t getting up yet.  I was determined to lay there and do nothing for a few minutes and enjoy the peace and quiet.  That was not the Universes’ plan though.  My daughter had a major crisis in her bathroom that she needed me to fix – a spider in her sink.

Let me give you a little history, I hate spiders. When I was a kid in Muncie, IN my grandfather built me a playhouse.  It had windows, bunk beds and a table and chairs.  I spent hours and hours in there until my cousin, Jen, pointed something out to me.  Spiders.  She was scared of them and thought she would pass along that family trait.  And just to make sure I understood, she locked me in my playhouse with the spiders.  That started my lifetime of fear and hatred for spiders. Now fast forward a bunch of years and I’m the spider killer in the house.  Not a job I like or ever thought I would have to do.

So I ask my daughter the important question, how big is it? Her response, “About the size of a tarantula.” Not good for Team Mom at all.  I peak around the corner and look into her sink and crap, it was kinda big.  Okay, I’m internally freaking out and I still have to kill it.  Stupid spider! I head to my closet to get something big and strong to kill it with.  My boot – that should do it.  In my mind if you’re going to kill a spider you do it with an object that will obliterate the spider.  I have never understood you Kleenex squish it people.  No way, what if you miss?!  Now all you have is a tissue in a spider battle.  No, I take something big into battle with me.  Finally, dead spider is shaken from the end of my boot into the toilet and flushed.  I’m not taking any chances that it could resurrect itself in a trash can.  Team Mom 1 – Dead Spider 0.

Any truthful parent will admit that we all have to do things we don’t like to do. The big things we understand are just part of our growing up and learning how to care for another human being. The small things, those are the threads of the tapestry of parenthood. They’re getting out of bed on our day to sleep in, just to kill a giant spider.  They’re running out to Target the night before a school project is due or making cupcakes at 11pm because you forgot you had the birthday treat. They are the little but big things that most of our parents did for us and that we find ourselves doing now for our children.  I may have hated killing that stupid spider, but what I love is that my daughter didn’t hesitate asking me for help.  She knew and trusted that I would take care of the spider and her.  Of course she did say since you’re up, can you make pancakes for breakfast? I might have made her a spider shaped pancake.

xoxo Melissa