Tuesday Tell All: Scaredy Cat

Creepy, Crawly, Spiders, Ghosts

What are the things that scare you most?

I almost would think this post would be easier to write about what I am not scared of. I am not afraid of heights, spiders, mice, rats, water, blood, ghosts, poop (I change endless amounts of diapers around here!), worms, eyeballs, bugs, dirt, fast cars, airplanes, searching through a garbage can for a lost item, fishing a toy out of the toilet, handling raw meat, swimming in a smelly pond, picking up a dead animal (with a sack of course!) or other things some people might dislike, but that wasn't the question now was it!

I had to think and think about what really makes me scared and I decided it was a two part question. First, there are the REAL things that scare me, things that matter, the life changing frightening things- like the kids being hurt, Rich getting in an accident, getting a terrible illness, or losing someone I love. Those things terrify me. I spend most of my time on my knees praying that things like that do not happen to me. Rich sees so many sad things at work each day that I always know they are a possibility in this life, but I try to focus on the good and just always be very careful.

The second part of the question can be silly and fun, like listing the things that make you squirm or your stomach turn. That is what I'll choose to write about today.

1. I am a bit claustrophobic. I do just fine in small confined spaces (like MRI machines), but put me in a sleeping bag and sit on the end and I'll be screaming in no time. I do have to say though, that I was put to the test and did remarkably well a few years back. I was in high school and my date and a group of kids were taken to Nutty Putty caves that are just on the west side of Utah Lake (and I've heard since blocked off). I didn't know we were going to do this, but I was willing to play along. To get into the cave you had to climb down a long narrow hole (about 8 feet down) and then get on your belly and slide quite aways into the cave. I might have been breathing a bit hard while working my way in, but it was fine. We spent the next two hours crawling and shimmying through dark narrow caves and tunnels with one measly flashlight. It was fun, but I was relived when we finally got out.

2. Motorcycles scare me. I was raised in a family where riding one was forbidden. I have never driven a motorcycle and my little stunt on Amanda's scooter after high school just about gave me a panic attack. I hate having to lean into a turn and have a hard time staying upright. I have only been on the back of one a few times, I was was dying to get off the entire ride! My kids will never ride them either, or ATV's or 4 wheelers. The worst head injuries and blunt force trauma Rich sees (there is at least one life threatening injury every call night) are from 4 wheelers.

3. I have watched FAR too many scary movies in my life and I don't enjoy being home alone at night. I guess that is why I have a hard time going to sleep when Rich is on call.

When I was 5 years old the movie Poltergeist came out. My parents had heard from friends that it was a good movie so my parents took me and my 6 year old brother Greg along too. (See what a blessing the Internet movie reviews can be!) Oh my goodness! We were all freaking out. Anytime something bad started to happen my parents would try to cover our ears and told us to look at the floor! The guys face started to fall off in the mirror- look at the floor, the dead bodies in the swimming pool- look at the floor, the tree coming to life- look at the floor, the creepy clown- look at the floor, the girl in the TV- look at the floor! It was crazy! That was a very scary movie.

After that I watched The Fog on TV and it was a bit spooky, saw frighting Twilight Zone episodes, watched a movie called House and scary things came out of open closets at midnight. I sat through The Shining, watched Stephen Kings IT miniseries on TV (the first half was scary!) , viewed some creepy fright night type shows and far too many others to mention. No wonder I don't like to be home alone!

Though I might get spooked, I am not a stranger to being alone in the dark. Being the only girl with 5 brothers, I always had my own room. In our first house in Salem my room was in the basement as far away as you could get. My brothers were at the end of the long hallway next to the stairs. To get to my room I had to walk past the dark and creepy laundry room, the storage room under the stairs, the bathroom and the big, cold storage room. There were no windows any of those places. I remembering running down the hallway and diving straight into my bed. I bet I said most of my nighttime prayers laying down under my covers.

When we moved up the street, my room was again in the basement in the corner room. It was a walkout basement and Greg was around the corner, but everyone else was 2 floors above us. When he went to college I slept alone downstairs far away from the rest of the bunch. It never bothered me, but like I said I did have a vivid imagination from all the things I'd watched, so I can't say I was never freaked out just a little.

Now, every night before I go to bed, I check the windows and doors, close all the closets and turn on the alarm. I have to know I am safe inside! Oh, and I don't watch scary movies anymore either! I don't need any new images imprinted on my brain. It's not that I am afraid of monsters or ghosts, I just fear that someone going to break in and hurt us. Just a minor thing right?

Luckily my boys have tender hearts and scare easily (we didn't make it through Ice Age!) so they haven't been following in their mother's scary footsteps and watched anything worse than Star Wars.

The list could go on, but I'll wrap it up with those three.

What makes you squirm and scream?