Oh, the Silly Things Grownups Are Afraid Of

Oh, the Silly Things

GROWNUPS ARE AFRAID OF

BY LURA ROTI

Picture a beautiful summer day in the Big Horn Mountains. The air is crisp and filled with the sound of a mountain stream. We’re on a mission to climb to the top of a boulder pile. So,we begin hopping from one boulder to the next. It’s a fun challenge. But because the boulders are close enough together –and large enough, it’s not dangerous. I’m having the time of my adult life – feeling like a kid again. Loving this moment with my husband and our daughter. And then I see a spider. It’s not just any spider. It’s an orb-weaver spider. Its body is about an inch in diameter and its legs are striped. My heart stops. I’m paralyzed...but not really because a loud scream escapes me. I look for an escape route and see another orb-weaver spider. And another. And another. Turns out, between every boulder is a web and on that web is a spider. I am now in my own personal hell. I. Hate. Spiders. My husband, Shon, comes to my rescue and escorts me off the boulder pile. He and our daughter finish the adventure without me. I try to rationalize my fear so I can resume what had been a fun family adventure. “I’m a fullgrown woman. This spider is not poisonous. In fact, it is dropping down from its web to avoid me. “It doesn’t help. I sit by the stream and wait for my family to finish their fun, mountain adventure without me.

The truth is, when it comes to fear, there is no amount of rational thinking that can talk me down. Spiders are among the silly things that I’m afraid of. In fact, I am so scared of spiders that one day, Shon and I were driving to a meeting together and a large black spider dropped down from behind our car’s visor. Fortunately, we were driving slowly because my reaction was to open the car door. Crazy, I know. But I could not help it. Even the plastic spiders I use when I decorate for Halloween give me the willies. Just writing about spiders for this column speeds up my heart rate. Why am I afraid of spiders? I really don’t know. What I do know is they have a powerful effect on me. If I see one and I’m alone, I have to vacate the area.

I have paid babysitters to help me clean my basement so that I would not be alone should I happen upon a spider. One time, when my husband was out of town on a work trip, I wanted to garden, but could not because of a large garden spider. So, I went next door and asked my neighbor to remove the spider. He was so kind and took care of it.

Fear and things that scare come to mind as I decorate for Halloween. I want my home to be spooky, but mostly in a delightful way...if that makes sense. Decorating for Halloween is something our daughter, Parker, and I love to do together. The other day we were discussing our Halloween décor style. It’s not cute and cuddly. But it’s also not gruesome. We settled on describing it as “sophisticated scary.” Our collection of decorations includes caged black rats, black birds, old black and white photos, ghostly mirror clings and lots of spiders and webbing. When we decorate, I hang the webbing on our front porch and Parker places the spiders. Because like I mentioned earlier, even plastic spiders scare me.

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