Bugaphobia

Ellie doesn't like bugs, she says. In fact, she'd like to stay as far away from them as she can, thank you very much. And if that means retreating in the house while the rest of the neighborhood is out in bug territory, then that is fine with her. On one hand, she's never had a bug phobia, so I'm a bit perplexed about why in the world my social butterfly would choose to be indoors just to avoid bugs. But then I realize that I can't really blame her. She truly is a bug magnet. You know how your mom always said, "Bees won't bother you unless you bother them"? Well, not if you are Ellie! She has been stung by at least 2 bees, and at her T-ball game last spring, a wasp stung her through her sliding pants! Why HER? Out of 100 kids playing in the bug-filled fields, Ellie was the chosen one.

And should I even address mosquitos? I think she's been bitten by more mosquitos in her 6 1/2 years than I have my whole life. When she was little, the bite would swell up like a golf ball. It's not that bad now, but what is bad is her awareness of the itch. She wants to scratch the snot out of herself. I tell her she has a sweet smell, and I really think she must have some kind of bug-attracting aroma. Well, a couple of days ago, I put my foot down. "Ellie, you can't stay indoors the rest of your life because of bugs. Go outside with Kami and Luke." With a sour look on her face, she walked out the door. But when I went to check on them, I found her gazing into the cul-de-sac from the back of my car.

























Bug protection. It made me smile, because it reminded me of a time when I was little and my friend Leslie Thompson (now Jenkins) and I got scared by a wasp. We ran around the other side of the house to the car, which was parked on a hill. We jumped in and waited for that wasp to follow us around the corner and we were going to scare the pooey out of it. Well, while we were waiting for the wasp to come find us, one of us got ahold of the gear shift and weeeee, down the hill the car rolled. Luckily, someone stopped us before we ran into the barn. I guess it's time to slather on the insect repellent!