"Don't Kill My Friend!"

This last week we have experienced an infestation of flies. We haven't had hardly any since spring and just this last week we had THREE at once in our house. They are annoying, unclean, multiplying, and did I mention, annoying!

So I was sitting down reading one afternoon while Josh was down for a nap and Sydney was at Nan & Pa's house. I was enjoying the still that
comes when you go from three children to one when Ryan starting freaking out.
"Oh no! Oh NO! Oh NO!"

"What Ryan?" I asked lazily. Like the bad mother that I am, I was only half paying attention since I was slightly more interested in my book.

"A spider Mom!"

That got my attention!

"Where?!"

"See, it's flying right there."

The word flying instantly calmed my nerves and reminded me that Ryan likes to call flies "spiders". So trying to defuse the situation as quickly as possible without having to get up or find my bookmark, I said, "Calm down it is just a fly."

"Bu-bu-bu-bu-but Mo-uhm it's on my star blanky!" (Poor Ryan has developed a stutter from spending most of his time around two very talkative females who rarely let him get a word in edgewise.)

Again trying to make the situation go away with minimal effort on my part I say, "Well why don't you share your star blanky with him? Maybe he's cold."

Silence....

"Mom! I-I-I-I-I'm sharing my blanky with my new friend look!" Sure enough there was a fly sitting on Ryan's blanket. (I was planning to wash it that day anyway.)

Well problem solved and I get a gold star for being the MOST CREATIVE MOM EVER! Not so fast. Later that day I'd finally lost my patience with all flying, buzzing, filthy house guests and spread my hands apart poised to kill fly numero uno. When what should I hear?

"Mom! DON'T KILL MY FRIEND!" So I reluctantly retracted my leathal weapons and apologized for not realizing that this particular fly was Ryan's friend.

I thought this would pass and I could go back to swatting flies at will. However, not until today could I can finally relax in complete silence without a constant buzzing or tickle from a fly landing on me. Why? Because all three flies have finally died of natural causes. Up until this point anytime Sydney complained about how scary the bugs were Ryan would say, "Sissy be nice, they're my friends." Or if Josh used one of the few words he knows, "NO!" and pointed at one of the flies, Ryan would say, "Not nice Joshy! That's my friend!" Or if Ben would unknowingly swat at one of them, Ryan would warn him, "Dad you can't do that! That's my friend, Dad!" I just plain knew better than to let him catch me trying to rid them from our house. Even one night this week, while we were eating dinner, Ryan looked up at the lights above the table where all three flies were waiting to swoop down and take a nibble and said "Look! There's my friends guys!"

All of you who know or are parents of tender-hearted children, be warned, 'bugs are our friends' is not a good motto to live by. Luckily Ryan doesn't know what Gemtek Pest Control does to all our other bugs :)!

(See Dad, there's two up there!)