Mid-week confessions

There aren't many things that I hate - injustice, suffering, hurting and neglected children would be counted among the main ones and I'm guessing a lot of you would probably agree that you hate those things too!  Another would be bugs!  And I'm not using the term "hate" lightly...for the most part, I despise them with all of my being.  I know you're probably saying, Val, that's pretty harsh.  Seriously though, it's not just that they are creepy and annoying.
Have you even had an up close look at a spider cricket?  I had one join me in the shower one morning and it almost gave me a heart attack.  Look at this thing.

(Image is copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhaphidophoridae)
Tell me - does this little demon not look like it just crawled up from the depths of hell?  It's no wonder they live in caves and basements!!  They embody the creepiness of spiders and the jumpiness of crickets, two of the things I dislike the most about bugs.  They scare me so much that when I find one I stand on the opposite side of the room and throw objects at it for fear that if I get close enough to swat it that it will jump on me!

I don't have the fortitude to squish bugs, and neither does my roommate.  Last fall we had quite the array of bug specimens trapped in upside down cups waiting for friends to come over and remove them.  As long as they don't appear to jump or fly, I can typically muster up the courage to turn a cup over them quickly.

You may or may not have realized what a drama queen I am up to this point.  Well now you know.  While I tend to avoid drama, bugs bring it out in me.  Last night, my neighbors got a taste of this.

I hate yard work, because it typically involves bugs touching me.  And because I have a black thumb.  I so envy my mom who plants pretty flowers and they live.  I, on the other hand, buy plants, put them on my deck to plant and promptly forget about them.  I try to remember to water them, and sometimes they live, but generally, it's not pretty.  Even full grown trees can't survive my yard - well the pretty trees at least.  The big nasty pine trees that get needles and sap all over my deck and back yard will live forever I'm sure.  Meanwhile, the beautiful tree in the front yard gets struck by lightning and is a goner.  Back to the bugs though...The other vegetation that seems to thrive are or course weeds, and the 4 annoying bushes in the front of my house.  They grow sooooooo stinking fast and also house a plethora of different species of the creepy crawlies!  Last night I came home from my run and couldn't stand it anymore - I mean, the overgrowth was starting to impede the entrance to my house.  I got out the shears and started cutting away.  The real problem is that you really have to get into plant to get to the back.  The funny part is when a bug touches me or buzzes by my ear, I fall out of the bushes and run into the yard freaking out.  Yep - I am that crazy!!!  I mean, there are all kinds of weird webs in there - so creepy!
And the result was - yes the front of my house is now presentable again AND I have no less than 15 massive bug bites on my legs.  Not cool!
The funny thing is that I love camping and hiking and being outdoors - maybe having the support of others helps me with the bugs in those situations, who knows.  Yes, I'm crazy.  It's fine. :-)
That's all the confessions I have actually - I hate bugs.  Oh, and I know I owe you an post on God's calling and fear to follow.  Still working on that.  I'm going to the beach for the week on Saturday, so hopefully I'll have time to reflect some more there!