Yesterday morning I was talking to the kids while they were eating their "power breakfast" because Sam had a big math test: egg sandwiches with turkey, cheese and spicy mustard, and I even let Sam have some green tea with caffeine to make his brain work. Sam screamed and jumped and said he had a tick walking across his hand. He ran across the room whining for me to go find the tick and dispose of it. Which I did, but then he spent the rest of the morning looking all around him, wanting me to locate ticks everywhere he sat so he'd be safe. He actually found 2 more on the floor, one alive and one dead, but he still wanted me to pick them up.
So I told him my theory that the devil is in bugs and little nasty things like bacteria and viruses. I really think "he" goes after us any way he can, and often it isn't through big temptations. He rides us, making us feel that we can't be safe in our own homes, feeling fearful, and then through many of them, transferring diseases to us like Lyme disease, with many horrible and vague symptoms. Always symptoms where we might be doubted, and question ourselves and our integrity. Diseases that are pervasive and very difficult to get rid of, that will come back at the drop of a hat. Things that can destroy our lives. That is just the kind of thing that the devil will do.
And I said, "You know, I don't even think the devil's a "he", I think he's just" and here I paused trying to find the right word. I didn't pause long enough. "He's just a...dick." And Sam nearly spit his orange juice out on the floor laughing. He's still laughing about it today, that Mommy would use that word to describe the devil. Dave, who is currently in California for meetings, was somewhat appalled and said he hopes Sam won't start using that word now like Abby's using "crap". Mommy needs to clean up her mouth.
The point of my story (other than the fact that I shouldn't tell stories until Mommy's had her caffeine) to the kids was that we need to be prepared to battle the bugs and not let them win.
So last night I was in my bedroom and coming downstairs to close up the house for the night. I stepped out and in the hall on my left saw the hugest black wasp I've ever seen. I quickly went back into my bedroom, texted Dave to ask if he'd fly back home to take care of it, and geared up. I donned my yellow raincoat and hood, as well as my pretty new strappy keens over my jammies, and grabbed a pile of magazines. For the next 5 minutes I'd open the door, hunt down my prey and throw a magazine at it. It was hard to get a good angle, so I'd glance off it but never get a direct blow. I threw a couple of books for good measure, and only made a small dent in the wall.
Every couple of minutes I'd text Dave who must have been at dinner, then finally, with adrenaline pumping out of my fingertips, made my mark. I buried him under several big books until I was sure he was dead, and texted Dave my final victory. Wondering why the heck he didn't answer back, I looked down and realized...I had texted the whole story of my epic battle to Martina!
She called this morning laughing hysterically and told me about her carpenter ant infestation. I identified the wasp as a great black wasp, one of the most dangerous stings. I spent the rest of the day with the pantry moths. 3 times I've had to change my strategy as more and more research is showing me that these guys can eat through packaging and plastic, and get out of tupperware. Ugh! I still haven't seen any eggs or larvae, just the little "cocoons" of the adults. But I'm sure they're there. This was at least the 3rd day I spent on this, as I really store quite a bit of food in my pantry. I have gone through the food 4 or 5 times, and I keep on throwing more away. Really just keeping cans, jars, and a few packages that look safe or are new. But I have seen them inside the flaps of brand new boxes, so I don't feel like I can keep anything in cardboard or plastic. Now everything is in double or triple packages and the pantry is emptied out and wiped down. I'm waiting for my glass airtight storage containers to arrive and planning how to continue to win my battle.
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