Bugged by Bugs

I know that we are supposed to love all of God’s creatures, big and small.  But truthfully, I would love for bugs to not invade my personal space.  If they could just stay off of my person, I could live in harmony with them. 

As evident, I am not a lover of the great outdoors.  Actually, that is not true.  I love a beautiful sunny day.  Wind blowing.  Weather in the 70s and low 80s.  That is my perfection.  Whether at a beach or in a park, or even my backyard in mid-summer with the grass a lush green and the sky a brilliant blue.  But these idyllic moments get ruined by bugs.  I hate them.  Particularly when they crawl on me, bite me, or sting me!

We have had beautiful weather this past week and I was ranting to my family that we have to spend time outside on these days because winter will be here all to soon and we will be indoor hermits.

So, after dinner, we headed out to shoot some hoops, swing, jump on the trampoline, etc.  We were only out for a half hour (this is what happens when you don’t get home from work until 6:30pm, eat dinner, and have to run to the store, so you only have a half hour of time allotted for the great outdoors in the busy schedule that is life).  I come in the house to head to the store, and notice that my hand is bothering me.  Some bug had the audacity to invade my personal space, and inject some part of its being, into the palm of my hand.  It wasn’t a mosquito bite nor a bee sting, not sure what it was, but the redness around the invasion of my being, was about the size of a quarter for a few days.

 A couple of days before this bug bite, we were at an outdoor concert for the evening.  At one point, I was thinking about what a nice night it was for the outdoor venue, when I thought I felt something hit my neck.  I right away put my hand up to brush it away, but all I felt was my hair and my necklace.  So I figured it was just the wind.  Well...about a half hour later, I felt something in my shirt, right under my bra.  I felt through my shirt and at first I thought I was just feeling the embroidered design on my shirt.  Then I realized that the design was on my upper left shoulder, and this was below my right breast.  So I immediately balled up that part of my shirt and start squishing the intruder in my shirt.  I was completely freaked out, so I squished the bug like crazy!  Then I lifted up my shirt and realized I had nothing I could use to get rid of the bug guts from my shirt.  Disgusting! 

This leads me to the previous weekend when we spent a couple of hours outdoors visiting with some out of town relatives.  Unbeknownst to me, my 11 year old (daughter A) was bit/stung by something Friday evening.   She showed my husband her arm that night and said it was itching.  He said it was the size of a pee and was not concerned.  The next day we had a very full schedule with my niece’s 18^th bday spa day and a graduation party.  We were driving home at 10 pm (after all of the med clinics are closed for the day) and daughter A says in frustration, “Ugh!  This arm is driving me nuts!!”  And I say, “what happened to your arm?”  And she says, "Something bit me when we were out last night.  I showed it to daddy.”  I glance at the arm (it was night and I was about to pull out of my parents driveway to head home).  The entire bicep looked red and swollen.  So I said, "I need to look at it better when we get home, because maybe it just looks (really) bad in the car."

I look at it at home, and indeed, her entire bicep region, from her elbow to her shoulder is one big, red, swollen, warm oval.  What looked like the size of a pee the previous night, was now the size of an avocado.

My natural born gift is that of a worrier (a very accomplished one, thank you very much).  I immediately think of all of those horrid pictures of someone who has a flesh eating disease or a brown recluse spider bite (have you ever googled a brown recluse spider bite??  Absolutely horrific how it eats through your flesh and requires surgery to remove the infected, rotted flesh as well as antibiotics).  So I asked her if it was horribly painful.  She said no, it only itched badly, occasionally.  It was warm to the touch and red and raised (all bad signs of infection) but due to the fact that she was not in bad pain – or even any pain at all – and was not bothered with symptoms, I deemed it acceptable to give her some Benadryl and put her to bed for the night.  The next morning, you could still see the shape, but it was less red and warm.  Within one more day, it had completely disappeared.  What the heck was that, I ask you?  Thankfully, it resolved quickly and did not require any treatment.  But of course it freaks me out in wondering what it was...since it is apparently lurking in my backyard.

The previous night this same daughter had a tree thorn puncture her foot through her flip flop and then the next day she had a pencil puncture her thigh when she kneeled on one.

It is no wonder why daughter A and I do not love the great outdoors.  We are bothered by bugs.  It is ironic, because being outside it supposed to be so calming.  Communing with nature...Absorbing Mother Earth's calming Alpha Waves...It all sounds great in theory.  A beautiful day, warm weather, sun shining, looking forward to a picnic or just hanging out or laying on a blanket and reading a book...until the bugs destroy the serenity.

Entomophobically Yours,
Me

Motivational Moment:

"Don't ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."  Howard Thurman

May you know what it is that makes you come alive and be able to live it!