SPIDER LOVE

I was reading on the couch, enjoying a lazy, rainy Sunday when I saw my son Alex walk by with an empty glass covered with a napkin. “I thought you were taking a shower?” I called as I heard him open the back door.

“I was, but there was a spider in the tub.” he called back.

I got up to see. “How big is it?” I asked as I walked out on the back porch.

Alex pointed over to a side table. “Not that big.”

I walked over to see a small brown spider sitting on the table. When I got closer it began to scurry towards me. “Oh! Not a fan!” I said as I quickly backed up. I looked over at Alex. “But I have to say I'm very impressed!”

Alex looked confused as he walked back in the house and put the glass in the dishwasher. “Impressed with what?” he asked.

“That you'd catch a spider and walk it all the way outside instead of just flushing it down the toilet.” I was leaned back against the counter.

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “Aren't you always telling me about how you catch crickets at work and take them outside?”

It was my turn to shrug my shoulders. “I don't mind crickets.” I couldn't help but shutter. “But spiders are a different story.”

Alex went to throw the napkin in the trash. “Hey, everyone deserves a chance to survive.” He looked over at me and laughed. “Just not in my tub.”

“I hate to admit it, but if I'd found him in my shower I'm pretty sure I would have just flushed him.” I looked sadly over at Alex. “Does that make me a bad person?”

“I still love you.” Alex came over and patted me on the shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better I'll let you catch all the crickets that come into the house.”

I had to laugh. “It's getting to be that time of year.” I walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a water bottle, holding it out to Alex.

Alex shook his head. “I'm getting into the shower, remember?”

“Oh yeah.” I put the water bottle on the counter. “The problem with crickets is that they're so hard to find. It's like trying to figure out which smoke detector is chirping when the battery runs low. Remember last year when I spent three days trying to find the one in the living room?”

Alex smiled. “I remember it drove you crazy.”

“I swear I thought it was living in the couch!”

Alex walked by me headed for the shower. “Well, playing hide and seek with crickets this fall can be your punishment for not treating bugs we find in the house equally.”

Steven walked into the kitchen, catching the tail-end of our conversation. “Who's getting punished?”

“Mom, for killing spiders she finds in the house.” Alex laughed.

“You shouldn't kill spiders.” Steven said as he went over to the fruit dish and picked out an apple. “They actually help keep the other insect population down. Having one or two in the house can actually be a good thing.”

I pointed over to Alex. “Tell that to him because he just tossed one out the door!”

Alex laughed as he headed for the bathroom. “I don't care how good they are, I'm still not going to shower with one.”