Panic? Me? Nah..

Will sat quietly on the kitchen floor for an unusual amount of time this morning. I was busy preparing food for the younger one and wasn't too distraught.. a few minutes of calm is a nice change. But then I moved into his immediate area and he was up.. and in his hand.. nay extending out BEYOND the edges of his hand.. was a giant wolf spider! In hindsight he may have been wanting to show it to me.. look mom.. lookie lookie what I found! all full of excitement.. But I, instead of showing a calm genuine interest in his new found toy, totally lost it. I'm generally not terrified of spiders.. my 6 year old daughter is.. she insists on spider patrol before she'll agree to go to bed.. and we are routinely removing smaller less dangerous ones that I wouldn't have a problem with hanging out and hatching a brood right in the corners of my bedroom. But this one.. it was HUGE! And, in my own defense, even the experts state..

"the bite of the Wolf Spider is poisonous but not lethal. Although non-aggressive, they bite freely if provoked and should be considered dangerous to humans. The bite may be very painful. First aid and medical attention should be sought as soon as possible, particularly as to children or the elderly."

So who am I to argue with the experts? My reaction may have been a tad overblown but getting that spider out of his little hand and into a secure zone was primary on my task list. He gently placed it upon a shirt hanging over the chair at the kitchen table.. but my screaming at the top of my lungs (AAAAHHH NOOOOO NOOOO PUT IT DOWWWWN!!!) apparently startled my little boy and he thought his new friend would be safer BACK IN HIS HAND!! and so he lovingly picked up the giant demon spider off the shirt. This of course was followed by even more screaming by me.. NO!! PUT IT DOWN!! AHHHHH!!! I was then successful in knocking it to the floor.. where it ran and hid under my purse. Ih...

Mere seconds after it had all begun Daddy had arrived on the battlefield and was ready to assist. Move the purse.. squish. Will was genuinely distraught. One lethal spider.. his new found friend.. terminated. Guess it beats squishing a bunny.. but I can't help but wonder what sort of lasting impression this event, played out entirely by instinct, might leave on this little boy..