All over a little spider

From upstairs I heard the call.

"Mom! There is a spider in my bathroom."

"So take care of it."

"No, I can't. I will just shower in your bathroom."

SERIOUSLY?!?!

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photo credit: mmariomm MMB_0088 via photopin (license)

   It is not like we live in South America, home of the 1 foot long, Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula. This isn't Sri Lanka where picking up a basket of clothes might reveal a Poecilotheria Rajaei with an 8 inch leg span and pinkish gray band on its abdomen. 

   We are in Illinois. The largest spider we are likely to encounter is the 1 inch Wolf Spider, if we are lucky. Since they are typically an outdoor arachnid, the odds of finding one inside our bathroom are pretty slim. So what was all the ruckus about?

A very tiny house spider.

Image from PhotoPin
photo credit: goforchris In the sink ... via photopin (license)

   Too little to be identified. So minuscule that I was unable to capture a picture that resembled anything other than a blurry dirt speck. Yet apparently large enough to elicit screams and hysterics from my teenager. A teenager who is taller than me.

Nope, not happening. Not on my watch.

   It was time for my daughter to take on her demons and slay the dragon. If she was afraid to stand up to one microscopic arthropod, how the heck was she going to handle everything else life would throw at her? 

   Being a supportive parent, I did go upstairs to encourage her. I handed her a wad of tissue big enough to suffocate a Pomeranian and brought her a stool to stand on*. All through her rants and crying I waited patiently. I even took care of the centipede that had chosen that ill fated moment to appear. But I would not take care of the eight legged problem for her.

   In the end she had to make a decision, deal with the enemy or lose the privilege of having friends over on the weekend. 

The spider didn't survive...my daughter did.

   I'm not a callous person, just a parent who wants her daughter to grow up courageous and able to address whatever challenges the future might hold. I want her to feel confident in the face of adversity, daring in her undertakings, and self-assured in her decisions. You can only achieve lofty goals after you have tackled small ones. This spider was definitely one of the small ones.

   I mean, really, what is she going to do when summer comes and the mice get in the garage?

*The author does not advocate or condone the harming of domesticated pets. Spiders are fair game, pets are not.

References: Spiders IDPH, Worlds biggest spiders