Jerimiah

Jerimiah lived by our front window for a full season. He was huge, his web was magnificent! After the rain, after the wind, even after the first snow he persevered. We checked on him every day and I just couldn’t sweep his web away.

I have always loved nature. The sounds, the smell, the science, and the mystery. I would sit outside as a child and dig up worms. I thought they were fascinating. The little ones when plucked from the earth would twirl and stretch when you put them on your hand. The dew worms were humongous and although much slower they were able to cover distances pretty fast. I wanted to be a forest ranger as a kid. Weird goals for a city girl!

When I had kids, I wanted them to feel as I did. We spent a great deal of time outside. I encouraged them to use their senses, not just their eyes. We layed in the grass, walked in the rain, splashed in puddles, taught them to whistle with a piece of grass and to sit quiet and just listen. We would get them up to see a meteor shower, or watch the fireflies, and with the change of season run out to watch the first flock of geese come or go.

My middle daughter would scream over every bug as a toodler. I once picked up a Daddy Long Leg spider and let it crawl around on my hand, I made my neighbour, who was petrified, smile and take a turn to show my daughter there was nothing to be afraid of. No kid of mine was gonna be scared of bugs.

My mom is scared of spiders. She can kill them, but while she does it, she will scream the whole time and do some spine tingly dance on her tippy toes. I guess dad had to kill them for her before I was born. Then once I arrived, she called him to get one over the crib, and he told her she would have to do it or it would get the baby.

For me and my dad it’s wasps or bees. Thankfully mom is not, even though as a child she stumbled on a nest and was stung repeatedly. I faced them once when my son was three. We were at the neighbourhood park and there was a small green area behind the swings, he came out swinging his arms to tell me the bugs were biting him. There was an actual swarm around him and I ran to him, picked him up and started running. I was headed for the river, but they stopped chasing us halfway across the field. I am some thankful he wasn’t allergic because he was stung over a dozen times and he is not afraid of them. I am, and do my best to hide it around kids so I don’t transfer that fear.

I would love to have a terrarium filled with rich soil and earthworms. To watch them through the glass, these chubby mystical creatures. Better than fish!