I Never Would Have Thought...

I've never liked bugs. Okay, that's definitely and understatement. I've been scared of bugs since I can remember. I don't mean that I just don't like bugs, I mean scared! This fear is something I definitely don't want to pass along to my children. Being conscious of this fact, I have tried to be mindful of not screaming when a bug comes flying toward my face or when I see a huge spider crawling up the wall in the bathroom. There have been a few times when I've let out a scream when I encountered a bug, but for the most part, I have done a good job of not letting Eli know how terrified I am of bugs. I do have to say that since Stephen has been gone, I have had to kill a few spiders.

Lately, there have been these huge beetles outside, mostly around the playground. Bella walks after them saying, "Bu, bu," and pointing her cute little finger at them. Last week, Eli found a couple of these beetles on the sidewalk, right outside the playground. He was talking to them and asking one if it wanted to play soccer. He then put his soccer ball in front of the beetle. It was quite comical.

Yesterday after walking Kim, Kate, and Jack to their car, we were on our way inside when Eli spied a beetle crawling along our sidewalk, right outside the front door.

He decided to touch it. Please note that I did not try to stop him from doing this.


After examining the bug closely, he decided that he wanted to pick it up!! How much more of this can I take?


He was so excited to be holding it in his hand. "Mommy, do you like to touch beetles?" "No, Eli I just like to look at them." It crawled around in his hand for a while, and he laughed, saying it tickled. Look how huge that thing is!


He put the beetle down on his back, watched him kick his legs, and then picked him back up again. I finally told him it was time to go inside all the while thinking, "Okay, be sure he doesn't put his hands in his mouth, straight to the sink to scrub those things!" Eli had to find the perfect spot to release the beetle. He was going to put him in the box with his plants, which by the way, have really grown. I think I need to put them in the ground maybe?


Anyway, he finally decided that he would put the beetle in the mulch. Bella and I started walking toward the door, Eli followed, and then he started screaming like he was in pain. I kept asking him what was wrong. He finally told me all about what happened. I was able to record some of what he was telling me.

Sweet boy! He's such a loving little boy. If he doesn't want to touch bugs anymore, it won't be because I made him scared of them.