When I first got hooked on blogs back in 2006, one that I really enjoyed was The Pioneer Woman. I’m sure most of you have read, or have heard of Ree and her life “in the middle of nowhere” Oklahoma. I really enjoy her site and find myself stopping by religiously each day. Now I don’t live on a cattle ranch like she does, nor do I enjoy cooking as much as she does. I don’t take awesome photos like she does or homeschool my kids. I pretty much have nothing in common with her. But I love reading about her life.
Anyway, her recent post was about how she had trapped a giant snake in a stock pot on the floor of her bathroom. I can’t even begin to tell you what that would do to me physically, emotionally, financially, etc. Because I AM TERRIFIED OF SNAKES. I’m not talking a disliking or an abnormal fear. I’m talking full out a 100% Holy Crap phobia.
As a kid, I had a ritual. Each night I would pull the sheets back to make sure that there were no snakes tucked into the foot of my bed. Then several times a night I would wake up, turn the light on above my bed and throw the covers back just to make sure one hadn’t crawled in while I was sleeping.
The mere thought of them (or sight of them on TV) makes me wriggle with the willies.
This presents a problem for me now that I am raising a child. I do not want to project my fear onto The King so I have been trying to manage my phobia for his sake. Take for example our trips to the county fair. Inevitably they truck in what appears to be every damn species of snake/reptile known to man so that hundreds of ogling people can tap annoyingly on their cages. Of course, one cannot choose to omit this portion of the event from the overall experience because the reptiles are conveniently located in the middle of the fairgrounds. At some point, you have to go there. Or in my case, run right by as fast as you can to get to the other side.
Anyway, there is a point to my post. As I was reading some of the comments on Ree’s post, I noticed that people were mentioning different phobias that they have and what creatures were prevalent in their areas of the world. It got me wondering.
Growing up in the Midwest, we had LOTS of mosquitos and horse flies. Here in Reno we don’t have them. Spiders we have lots of but not so many flies. (It makes for a much nicer picnic let me tell you). One bug I do miss though are fireflies. We don’t have any of them. Not a one.
What about you? Do you have any serious phobias? What creatures seem to thrive in your neck of the woods? Ever consider moving because you found a snake in your bathroom? (I would!)
I think you remember we found a snake in the house this past summer which freaked me out more than I’d have guessed. The Vineyard has a lot of skunks and they have no natural predators (someone brought them here in the 60′s believe it or not; they can’t swim the 7 miles to get here).
I’d like to say I have no creature phobias. I used to hate spiders but gardening has cured me of that. That doesn’t mean I want uninvited critters slinking around inside my house, however!
So I guess you’ve never rented “Snakes on a Plane” eh? I didn’t know about the bedtime ritual…but it explains a lot. Mom
That kind of post always makes me grateful for living in Europe. The biggest thing that freaks me out are the large spiders in the garden. And the wasps in summer. I’m quite grateful for our small pests these days.
[...] more great fear spins, click here. To check out some of my other posts on my fears click here (snakes, riding in cars, flying) Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Spin Cycle – Holiday [...]
Ahhh, I’m not alone. I used to do the same thing. Now, if I have to get up in the night and see dark clothes on the floor? I poke it with a baseball bat, just to make sure. And when that lady found a snake in her toilet? I didn’t relax while peeing for a week.