Spiderman

I had another great weekend. My muscle soreness from my tumble last Thursday has been easing and is now only an occasional reminder of the incident. Feeling better and energized, we decided that Sunday was the perfect occasion for another family adventure.

We packed up Robby and headed to the apple orchard. Unfortunately we failed to realize that apple picking season is nearing the end. The only apples remaining were on high branches and necessitated using a pole. Even with the extension grabber, many of the apples were out of reach.

Undeterred by the apples dangling out of reach, Robby had a blast. He loved trying to pull down the apples with the "super long pole" and was occasionally successful. We left the orchard with a half full bag of yummy ripe apples and, more importantly, huge grins on all of our faces.
After driving home and putting away the apples and hanging another load of laundry, I succumbed to the pleading and walked up the street with Robby. He took off sprinting when he saw his friend and her older brother playing outside. I was happy to see her Mom because I enjoy chatting with her and catching up on the neighborhood gossip.

The kids were playing well, and I was enjoying some adult conversation. It was a wonderful afternoon. Then I heard, "Look, Momom. This big black buggy spider just bit my leg." Let me assure you, those are words that will grab your attention. When the older boy exclaimed, "Wow, Robby! That is a Black Widow Spider. Cool!" everybody's conversation stopped.

Yes, Robby indeed was bitten by a Black Widow Spider. The spider has met a chilly demise as it is being stored in my neighbor's freezer in case we need it for a doctor. I am proud of myself because I remained composed during the "spider crisis."

After looking at Robby's bite mark, I decided that I should call poison control for directions on how to proceed. Since Robby was not panicked and did not seem to be in distress, I was fairly confident that he was going to be fine. Still, I thought it would be prudent to check into it.

I learned that Black Widow spiders are rarely deadly, at least not to humans. Since Robby didn't exhibit any vomiting, pain or seizures, he would probably be fine. I circled the bite mark on his leg so that I can gauge any changes. My heart began to beat normally.

With the situation in hand, I decided it was time to leave. I tried to figure out how to break the news to Scott as we walked home. I knew that he was going to freak out. I was right. He finally agreed that we didn't need to rush our little Spiderman to the hospital since Robby was busy riding his bike around the driveway and was singing "On Top of Spaghetti" at the top of his lungs. He was going to be fine.

As typical, we have been more affected by the bite than Robby. Our little guy seems unfazed by the event. Scott and I have spent hours researching Black Widow Spiders. I now know the life cycle, their preferred habitat and how the venom works. I think Robby will be dreaming of apple picking tonight. Scott and I, on the other hand, will be dreaming of spiders. I hate spiders!