Which is scarier – a) frog, b) snake, c) spider, d) choose your own option, e) all of the above.
Fear is a strange thing. Sometimes we are told that the only thing to fear is fear itself, and another that most of the things we fear never come to pass anyway.
In a day where mental health has gained much more attention and focus, being afraid or anxious is okay. Or, it’s okay to talk about it.
With Covid, the looting and everything else going on in the world, there can’t be many or any who do not have a care in the world. That’s all normal.
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What’s interesting is why some people have certain fears and others different ones.
Like heights, or snakes, I’m just not a fan. Flying is okay, barely, but looking down from high points makes me feel a bit wobbly.
Hot summer nights bring a dilemma, especially when the remote for your bedroom fan is broken.
Do you sleep with the window open or not?
The other day I was about to shower when I noticed that a frog had beaten me to it.
My wife, who is not afraid of huge dogs and snakes, was completely freaked out.
Eventually, I managed to hero up and get rid of Kermit.
The spoon and pot/bucket method proved hopelessly inadequate in light of this little guy’s jumping abilities.
Eventually I wrapped him up in a towel and lobbing him gently onto the grass outside.
We were slightly more careful to close the window, but obviously not careful enough.
Two nights later, I walked into the bathroom and there was another amphibian adventurer staring goggle-eyed at me.
The window was closed and it was 2.20am – our lockdown surprise baby, now three months old, had woken us up.
How on earth did he get there? The frog that is, not the infant.
This time I was far smoother in getting the frog out. My daughter (7) had also woken up and opened the front door.
“Quick Dad, throw it far,” she said, before running back to Mom.
I flung Jeremiah (admittedly not a bullfrog) out to safety, locked up and went back to try pee in peace.
Only, Jerry was still there, clinging to the shower door!
Try again, this time with success.
The whole time my wife was ‘hiding’ in the room and my son (9) miles away in dreamland.
It’s weird because earlier that day we replaced the gas, in a section outside the home that is part shadowy shed/part snake haven.
I cautiously tiptoed in, trying not to imagine that every piece of hosepipe, branch, leaf or garden appliance wasn’t some sort of venomous reptile.
“Oh please, just get a move on,” was the gentle encouragement I got.
And then, on a really, really hot, muggy night after the rain.
“I think you’d better close the windows. It’s not the burglars I’m worried about it’s those slimy, jumping frogs!”
Whatever the case, and whatever your favourite ‘pet fear’, all the best for the new year.
And don’t let your fears hold you back.
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