I had asked C to unbuckle her brother from his car seat while I unlocked the front door, but I had barely cleared the van when an unholy shrieking came from within. My adrenaline pumped as my mind ran through a list of scenarios that would warrant such a sound. Had Big E bitten her? Unlikely, as he was excited to get out of the van himself. Had the buckle somehow hurt her? Perhaps, but that scream seemed too dramatic. And suddenly Big E was screaming too, the same high pitched squeal. But by the time I had gotten back to their door, their screaming was so loud they couldn’t hear me ask what was wrong.

As C stopped to take a breath she looked towards me, but not directly at me and started screaming again. Seriously, what is going on?!?

And then I saw a brief fluttering go past my face. It was fast, but clumsy. A moth??

C screamed again as whatever it was alighted on Big E’s pants. Big E, still strapped in his car seat, begins screaming hysterically again. And to add to the commotion, Baby E pipes in as well.

So there I am, stuck inside my van with three screaming children and a flying insect holding them hostage.

I grab C and pull her out of the van, only to notice the bug has landed on my arm. Definitely not a moth. It’s dark outside, but I can tell it’s big with long legs and a triangular body. There are spots on its back. It’s legs are tickling my arm. Making sure I am completely outside my van, I shake him off praying he flutters away from the van and my hysterical children. I unbuckle Big E and usher the big kids inside as they sniffle and sob. I get Baby E, who is no worse for wear, out of the van. He babbles on and on about a bug, the cargo (the word he uses for car), Big E, and tops it all off with a screaming noise and a large smile. At least one of them was amused.

Thankfully, it would appear that my kids have survived the Great Bug Incident of 2016 relatively unscathed. 🙂 At least they come by their fear of bugs honestly. I’m not one for anything that crawls, or scurries, or flies without feathers.

*****

Tomorrow is a big day. C gets to go to school in the afternoon and meet her new teacher. School starts in just a few days and she is starting to get excited about it. It is also her sixth birthday. This evening I laid in bed next to her and rubbed her eyebrow with my thumb as she was falling asleep, just like I did with her when she was a baby. She nuzzled her head into my neck and I listened to her breathe.

And in that moment, the world was perfect.