Where Does This Stuff Come From?

Where Does This Stuff Come From?

By Courtney Michalec


The light was about to go off. Finally, bedtime had arrived. And then she said, "Hide, quick! I see one, two, free praying mantises!!!" Huh?
I complied, and we huddled under the thick comforter, despite the fact that it was a 90 degree day and we don't have air conditioning. Anna was wide-eyed - clearly it would be a long time before we actually got to sleep.
"Can we peek our heads out and check to see if they're gone?" I asked. She nodded, and we did. We looked around, she squealed, and dove back under. Darn.
They were still there. I started sweating profusely.
After a few unsuccessful attempts to assure her we were mantis-free, a light bulb went off in my head. "Anna," I said, "Let's put on our invisibility shields so we can go to sleep. They won't even know we're here."
"Okay, mom," she replied, clinging tightly to me as we removed the blanket. Whew! I could breathe again. And it was time to sleep.
I laughed about this the next day. Most kids are scared of the boogeyman in the closet, or the monsters beneath their bed. Mine fears.... praying mantises. Tiny green insects. I don't think she has ever even seen one. That got me wondering: where does this stuff come from?
You never know what will trigger a child's imagination, or how ordinary everyday things can take on colossal proportions in their little eyes. And sometimes I have myself to blame for that.
In this case, upon reflection, I believe it was the Eric Carle book, The Very Quiet Cricket, that introduced Anna to this unique insect. This cute little story features a baby cricket who meets other insect friends that try to greet him, but he can't find his voice to greet them back - spoiler alert! - until the end, when he meets another cricket. (Sorry, but I may have just saved you $12.)
Anyway, one such insect is the praying mantis. To make books such as this more enjoyable, I often create voices for the characters. For some reason I decided to give the praying mantis a Joan Rivers-like, raspy, chain-smoker voice. These weird voices always crack Anna up, so it never occurred to me that when nighttime began to get a little scary, courtesy of the alligator, my efforts at humor would come back to haunt us both.
Oops.
Even though we haven't read that book in a long time, suddenly, the now-evil praying mantis has reared his ugly head. Was it my mantis voice that spooked her? Or perhaps the fact that these little creatures really are quite creepy-looking in real life?
I'll probably never know. But, at least I have learned that the mantises know the alligator, so if we can shoo him away, in theory, we should be able to take care of them all.
The point? I don't really have one, other than that it's absolutely fascinating to watch the toddler imagination at work. You never know what will happen next! I'm glad to be a captive audience.
Please check out my blog, My Life with Pie - http://www.mylifewithpie.com. We write about all sorts of things - nighttime fears, bullying, parental exhaustion, you name it. And there are also plenty of amusing photos and stories and videos. We're funny, serious, poignant, thought-provoking, occasionally irritating but always caring. And we're open to your suggestions, comments & participation - so please check us out!!

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