But I Smile Anyway…

I’ve not always been a brave rat-fighter, like the other day, you know.
When I was a little whippersnapper, Pops was my savior on many occasion!
Spiders, moths, daddy long legs, flies, bees, wasps… Anything small that moved, basically, would result in the screaming down of the house, by me, of course!

Image from Google
In our bedrooms, before they were banned from use because of being fire hazards, we had polystyrene ceiling tiles. And at night, God forbid if any flying creature were to come into my room! The moth or daddy long legs would fly around at the top of the room, hitting the ceiling, making a scratching noise, and I would hear it first, then tentatively switch on the light, locate it, then scream for my dad! Eyes fixed on the poor little creature, terrified of it coming near me, I’d wait for dad, then point in the direction of the object of pure terror, and wait for him to catch, and dispose of said monster, before being able to sleep again!
Note, I said dispose of, as Pops would never kill them, he’d gently catch them, and let them free from a window.

Image from Google

It continued, Pops being my private bug catcher, until I was much older.
But having a younger brother, who knew of my fears… Not a good thing!
I always remember him handing me a cotton bud box, with a clear lid. He actually didn’t hand it to me, he waved it in my face, and when I registered what was inside… You guessed it, I screamed!

Image from Google
It was filled with 5-6 daddy long legs that he had captured, and imprisoned, with the sole purpose of torturing me with it! Boy, did he enjoy the squeals from me, running and hiding!
(This is the kind of thing Lil Man does to
Lil Princess, but substitute the insects for bananas… Yes, she’s scared of fruit! (Or was…!)
He kept them for a few days, in that pot, before realizing they needed food and water, and space to fly… Giving  them their freedom after they had actually died!

Coming back to me getting older… I wasn’t always going to be at home, with the safety net of Pops… University beckoned, and suddenly I was 2 hours away from any Pops help! Uh oh! What to do??!

*Stereotype coming up!*
It was great, there were always lads around, strapping or not, ready to help us damsels in distress, and we would daintily call for our knights in shining armor  to rescue us from those nasty spiders and moths… Except one evening, I remember bring in the kitchen of our halls of residence. We were cooking at around 2am, as students do, and a moth dared to fly in through the window. Well, that was it! Screams from us girls, much flapping ensued! Entry from our savior… A lovely lad, who was a friend of one of the girls in the kitchen. He burst in, chest extended, and asked what the problem was, before spotting the monster moth… (Who was probably smaller than average!) And proceeded to scream, like a girl, prancing about the kitchen, trying to get away from the moth!!! Of course we just burst into fits of giggles! God knows what happened to the moth… It probably flew out after hearing the man-girl screams!

Image from Google

Then I turned a corner.
Somewhere, somehow, I became brave!
We moved into student houses, where there were 4-5 of us girls, and no steady stream of brave knights. We had to learn to cope. The first couple of years we were OK, there was always one of my housemates ready to tackle any intruders.
But there came a time when I was the oldest there… I’d graduated, but still lived out, with some younger friends of mine. And they ALL had the FEAR!!!!
All of a sudden I became mum of the house! From, encouraging them to study, to trying to cook regularly, I took on these duties… And I even became the ‘go to girl’ for pest removal… Me! The screaming  banshee of yesteryear was now a brave knight… A savior to my younglings!!!

My Pops saw me in action one time my parents came to visit and he was shocked!!! He couldn’t believe his scaredy cat daughter had grown up!
And as a real mum, I continue these duties… Even as a teacher too!

Just the other week we went to observe at the school pond , and a little lad was jumping around because there was a bee! I got him to calm down, and said bee disappeared, but made another appearance… Cue flappy arms and ” Mrs Bhathal! I don’t like bees, I don’t like em! Mrs Bhathal! It’s coming for me! Mrs Bhathal quick! Pick me up!!!”

Image from Google

Oh and I omitted to mention that on that visit, and 4 others, I caught frogs, and a toad! ME!!!!!!!!!! See, I’m not scared any more!!!

Any fears you have overcome??