Ant Patrol: Leave it to the one year old.

As the mother of a boy, I have been careful to not pass on my disdain for insects to my son. Although I am not afraid of most bugs, I do not like any of them. I am one of few human beings who doesn't like butterflies. (I don't mind looking at them...just not up close. Pictures are sufficient). Lightning bugs are the single type of bug I will actually catch and I couldn't even begin to tell you why.

Anyway, for some reason Levi is afraid of house flies and ants. He will run screaming bloody murder if he comes too close to either insect. This is not something he got from me. I tell him they won't hurt him and he can squish them if he wants. Yesterday I witnessed Rachel doing just that. She was on the porch at my parents house and began stomping her foot on the ground. I realized she was trying to kill an ant. She was not afraid of it at all, she took it upon herself to rid the world of one more of those tiny black pests. Later, she did the same thing on the pool deck...in bare feet. The ants are not a problem for her.

(Here comes the funny part.)

This morning I am finishing up my shower when a screaming three-year old comes pounding on my door. I open and ask what's wrong. He replies panicked "There's an ant in the bathroom downstairs!" "So, go kill it." I say. He says he can't and that I need to go downstairs and take care of it. I say "Well, Rachel isn't afraid of them and she was killing them by herself yesterday." He just looks up at me and says, "Well, then can I go wake her up so she can kill the one downstairs?"

The method of motivation I was trying to use was clearly lost on him.