Things That Bug Him

Micah's mission this year is to Kill The Flies. Not because he likes the task of wielding the fly swatter or wants to be a helper around the house, but because he's freaked out by bugs. True story. I ask Micah to unload the dishwasher, and he has to stop to kill a fly. Or attempt to, at least. This makes the task of dishes last approximately 42 minutes. It also makes my head explode. I let him continue to wield the fly swatter, however, because it's a skill to be able to kill insects. He needs to hone skills.

If Micah is just walking from the living room to the kitchen, and sees an ant on the floor, he'll kind of freak out a little bit. Or a lot, depending on his mood. If he sees a fly on the counter when he comes to get a drink, he'll faux cringe, and back away. It's a little ridiculous.

I put him to bed the other night, and he freaked out when he saw a very small white moth fluttering on the floor right inside Josh's bedroom. I was in no mood to deal with any more Micah that day, so I solved the problem by closing Josh's door. Out of sight, out of mind. Problem solved. I tucked Micah into his own bed and went on my way to get work done.

Next thing I knew, Micah was right there in front of me, crooking his finger excitedly for me to COME! SEE! NOW! So I went to see, because there was no waiting, and he needed put back to bed anyway. Micah led me to Josh's room, proudly flung open the bedroom door, and pointed triumphantly to the fluttering moth in the middle of the floor.

For crying out loud. We weren't playing hide and seek with the thing. And apparently he wasn't going to go to bed as long as that thing was still fluttering. I had no choice but to dispose of it and chase my little bug-a-phobe back to his bed.

Maybe by the end of summer he'll be a skilled fly killer and we won't suffer from Flies In The House this year. I just need the patience to deal with his learning curve until then.