Phobic

I do tend to be frightened of spiders. They give me this vague panicky feeling that I think subliminally I knew could be uncontrollable if I were really threatened by a spider, however since I always stay far away from them it just existed as a hovering heart racing feeling.

And then one day I was sitting in a car with my husband and child and a daddy long legs crawled up my side. That was horrible enough, but then - it dropped down onto my seat and I lost track of it.

And I freaked out.

Yes - I was told as a child that daddy long legs have fangs (fangs for heavens sake) that are too small to bite humans, and I was in a moving car, and I am an adult and should be able to handle something like that.

BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE IT WAS, and it could have easily been crawling ON ME.

So I commenced crying and hyperventilating and basically making a bit of a fool of myself.

Aaron pulled over as quickly as he could and I lept out of the car, and yes, the thought of stripping my clothes off briefly crossed my mind. luckily the spider was on the seat, was quickly brushed to the asphalt, and stepped on. I'm ashamed that the stepping on had more to do with my need to dominate it than with its actual threat to me at that point.

All told there were 5 daddy long legs riding with us in the car that day, one which I found on my head rest after getting out of the car after a 10 minute drive. Gulp.

Note: The spiders came from the wood we bought at one camp site and drove to another...don't ever, ever do that.

Note #2: Lest those readers familiar with the delicate daddy long legs of the southwest think I am a total wuss, this is what Daddy-Long-Leg spiders look like in upstate NY.