The blog of a military wife living in Germany.
racing around in my head.
Published on January 27, 2007 By Arlya In Misc
Yesterday I was doing laundry in our frigid basement when I saw him. The biggest damn spider I have ever seen in my life. He sat on the wall staring at me. "Why am I afraid of something so small?" I wonder. Because he can bite and kill me, I remind myself. Natural human response. I throw the clothes in the washer and holler for Tyson. He likes this kind of thing, he's too small to understand the danger, but big enough to be intrigued but wary. "Spider! Look! You see it? Spider!" he exclaims. "Yeah, ew a spider!" I reply. We leave.

During Tyson's nap I go to put stuff in the dryer. He's still there. I'm thinking of naming the beast now since he's so damn big. And still there. I open the dryer, glaring at him. I can't take my eyes off of him because he might scurry toward me, or jump on me and get all vampiric. I'm generally not this afraid of spiders, but this thing was big. I run upstairs and get Dan and beg him to come "take care" of the spider for me. He does. I love him. He's my spider slayer.

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Abby giggles in her sleep and is music in my mind. I smile in the dark and wonder what she dreams about. She laughed at me last night when I was carrying her downstairs. It was the first time she's done so, awake.

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Tyson gets really excited about everything. It finally snowed for the first time this winter and he can't stop talking about it. Lately he tells me about how much he likes "The yellow school" and "The Jessie" and "The K.C." (his teachers) He reminds me of myself sometimes. I wish he liked me more.

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I'm on this kind of journey right now to find out what I'm really about. I'm not running off leaving the kids and Dan behind to live some wild ways or anything like that. But I'm writing, I'm reading, I'm taking a break from the internet, and taking a break from WoW. It's busy in my mind and I need to do some organizing up there. I want to know me, and I want to love me. I want to feel like I am good enough, like I am special, like I have worth.

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I wish Angela and I still lived in the buildings beside each other. I really regret being such a wuss about just going over to her place and hanging out. I wish we would have gotten together more. I think we were a really good match as friends and it took me quite a while to see that. I remember we would go over to each others houses, and our houses were a mess and so were we, but we didn't care. It was just about having a friend, and our boy's having friends. I really miss her. I keep thinking about how much fun it would be to do things together. She always wanted to go out and do stuff that was fun for us and the kids. Maybe I'll see her at another duty station. Who knows?

Comments
on Jan 27, 2007
Spiders eat bugs. And no spider in North America is venemous to kill you except the Grand Daddy Long Legs (but his mouth is too small).

Adopt him as a pet! Feed him flies and gnats and other bugs! They are actually great pets when you feed them.
on Jan 27, 2007
Hehe. I'm not in NA, I'm in Germany. He probably wasn't poisionous either, but he's a spider, and some spiders are, so I guess my brain is set on being scared. It's too late for adoption now, Mr. Spider met Mr. Paper Towel when my husband came and took care of him.
on Jan 27, 2007
Hehe. I'm not in NA, I'm in Germany


Where abouts? I spent 2 years in Frankfurt. On the GI plan.
on Jan 27, 2007
Where abouts? I spent 2 years in Frankfurt. On the GI plan.


I currently live near Bitburg. I lived in Kaiserslautern for about 4 years before that. My hubby's in the USAF and we are stationed here. I've been to Frankfurt a few times. Were you at Rhein Main?
on Jan 27, 2007
Were you at Rhein Main?


No, Frankfurt proper. US Army, not USAF. Been to Munich, berlin and K'town, but did not make it to Biturg. But I did love the tour! I miss the bratwurst! The US cant seem to get that right.
on Jan 29, 2007
I wish Angela and I still lived in the buildings beside each other. I really regret being such a wuss about just going over to her place and hanging out. I wish we would have gotten together more. I think we were a really good match as friends and it took me quite a while to see that. I remember we would go over to each others houses, and our houses were a mess and so were we, but we didn't care. It was just about having a friend, and our boy's having friends. I really miss her. I keep thinking about how much fun it would be to do things together. She always wanted to go out and do stuff that was fun for us and the kids. Maybe I'll see her at another duty station. Who knows?


I miss you too! John says when we get stationed in Maryland (hopefully soon) we'll take hops to see you guys. That will be fun!
on Jan 29, 2007

when we get stationed in Maryland

We got connections there, and I am just south.  So you stay in touch!  And take care of that baby!

on Jan 29, 2007
And no spider in North America is venemous to kill you except the Grand Daddy Long Legs (but his mouth is too small).


*hrm* If I may...

The Daddy Long Legs(aka the cellar spider) is completely harmless to people as are the other two creatures which are called daddy long legs(Harvestmen and Crane flies).

There are two spiders in North America that are considered dangerous: the Black Widow, and the Brown Recluse.

The Widow possesses latrotoxins which cause muscle contractions resulting in cramps and respiration problems and perhaps other muscle based symptoms. While the venom is extremely toxic(15x that of a rattlesnake) it is injected in very small quantities and most healthy adult humans do not die from the bite.

The Recluse is much worse. It can cause necrosis(not all the time, mind you) which basically results in the soft tissues around the bite area to die and dissolve and become gangrenous which eventually falls off. Healing takes months and results in really bad scars. While it can be fatal by causing hemolysis, thrombocytopenia, and disseminated intravascular coagulation, this is usually not the case for healthy adults. Also, the bite area can become infected and you get a bunch of problems there.

Okay, science lesson over.

~Zoo



on Jan 29, 2007
Oh wow, as soon as I hit "submit" I got a phone call. We just got our orders to Maryland. Woohoo!
on Jan 29, 2007
Spiders eat bugs. And no spider in North America is venemous to kill you except the Grand Daddy Long Legs (but his mouth is too small).


The Daddy Long Legs(aka the cellar spider) is completely harmless to people as are the other two creatures which are called daddy long legs(Harvestmen and Crane flies).


hey Zoo, recognizing your superior knowledge, you might want to read the bolded part. If they could bite us, it would be very toxic. More toxic than the Black Widow or Brown recluse.

Ok, just wanted to clarify and make sure we are on the same page.
on Mar 06, 2007
I miss Angela too. I only wish I was better at keeping long distance friendships strong.....
on Mar 06, 2007
Most spiders in Africa are harmless too--we have a few nasties but they are not common. I get angry when people kill spiders for nothing. They love eating mosquitoes and those are far more dangerous!