The path to therapy is paved with teachable moments...

This past weekend we took Dandelion camping.  His big sister was away at a Girl Guide camp and we thought we would take the opportunity to have some one-on-one time with him.

Fun, sun, nature - he was completely in his element!  Mind you, we spent 4 of the first 10 months of his life camping across the country.  One thing he just hasn't been able to get over are spiders - he will absolutely flip if he comes across a web, let alone a spider!

Well, on the way to the washrooms before bed time I encouraged Dandelion to keep his flashlight turned off so we could enjoy the fireflies.  Of course, this led to many questions about fireflies that I answered as best I could and ended with "what does a firefly look like?".

On the way back to our site I noticed a lone flashing in the grass along the path.  Wow, I can actually show Dandelion a firefly!  How exciting! 

Now, I really should have thought "Why is this firefly not moving...what could be wrong?"....

As I shone the flashlight on the lone blinker, the beam caught a most horrible, albeit natural, sight - the firefly was in a death embrace with a spider!

As I quickly turn off the light (and start thinking about the extra jobs I am going to have to pick up to pay for the therapy), Dandelion lets out a whistle and says, "Cool!". 

Cool?  You freak about the idea a spider may even be in your vicinity and this is "Cool"?! 

Funny enough, this ended up working in our favour - no matter how we have tried to inform him of the fact that spiders (in our neck of the woods) can't hurt him, it took him to see for himself that they can only eat things in their own size range.

By the end of the weeked, I was creeped out (never been a fan of spiders, but I work hard at not passing my irrational phobias onto my children) because he was searching out spiders and insistent on sharing his finds with us.  I manage to live oustide of a white jacket that fastens from behind because I have an unspoken agreement with spiders that I will pretend they don't exist if they pretend I don't either - I have a feeling that checking out their webs, searching plants and trees for them is a violation of our terms.

How many extra jobs am I going to have to pick up to pay for my therapy?