This is not a spider story, it's a study about whether my husband is more afraid of spiders or of me.
Last weekend, I went on a girlfriend retreat while poor Mel worked Saturday and Sunday. Two twelve-hour day shifts. Which means he didn't get home until after dark on Saturday. I had left specific instructions for him to water our recently planted shrubs. I know. I'm a shrew.
He was also supposed to feed the cats and put them to bed, and they were starving by the time he got home, so even though he did arrive before it was totally dark, he didn't get to the front yard until pitch black. The porch light doesn't reach far, so he improvised. He backed the car out of the garage and parked it at a crazy angle so he could shine the headlights across the yard. It wasn't quite enough for him.
If you will remember the mowing-through-spider-web incident a couple of weeks ago (little-girl scream ring any bells?) you can certainly understand why he was hesitant to walk between the trees, where Charlotte the 15th likes to build her webs. So he took a flashlight. A big one. And before he watered the shrubs, he sprayed the trees down really well so that if there were webs anywhere nearby, the water droplets would shine in the huge glow of the big flashlight and the headlights. And he kept the light aimed where he was aiming the hose.
So here's Mel hopping around in the front yard, huge light bouncing up and down in the dark, water spraying everywhere. It must have been a sight to behold. The police thought so.
Have I mentioned that we've had a few...um...incidents in our neighborhood that involved the police? It's a tiny town, and the police know us well because of interesting experiences we've had with them--but I'll tell you about the Halloween house alarm and the pit bull and the meth-house busts later.
So by the time Mel actually reached the shrubs and started watering, an officer in a cruiser pulled to the side of the road. He must have been thinking, "Oh, no, what this time?"
"Uh, are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes," Mel said, totally unruffled, "just unorthodox."
"How's that?"
So Mel explained. I don't think the officer was surprised. I'm hoping he was impressed by Mel's thoughtfulness toward me and his ability to think outside the box. Probably not, but one can always hope. Mel kept his promise, and I was deeply moved...to laugh. He laughed with me.
Do you have any loved ones who have gone to such lengths to meet your expectations, even to the point of embarrassing themselves? I bet you do if you think hard enough. I'd love to hear your stories.
Labels: Fear of spiders, nighttime chores, police visit
This is not a spider story, it's a study about whether my husband is more afraid of spiders or of me.
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9 Comments:
Love that pic of Mel! Heck, I wouldn't have bothered with anything outside that late. I would have fed the cats and that's IT!
No, I don't have any of those people. What's that like? LOL
Colleen, you would have been right, because it rained a day later. Poor Mel. All that for nothing.
Okay, Kris, I'd make a fool of myself for you. So would Colleen, I'm sure. And Diann and Denise...we LOVE you!
ROTFL!
ok I saw this about 4AM this morning ,and the pic scare me,(sorry Mel)
but now that I'm awake , I bet that was funny, too bad ya didn't a moviecamera out there ya might have won some money from "AFV" :)
It would have been nice if I'd had a camera at the time. Sorry Mel's picture scared you, jel. LOL!!
That picture is hilarious!! Talk about a scary! Perfect picture for a suspense writer--you should have one like that taken of you and put on your books. LOL! Love it!
Wow, Diann, I never thought of that. I wonder if a publisher would do it...
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