No Spiders Please

My fear surfaced at age 4. We were living in England so maybe it was a transitional anxiety.

I was upstairs at home, when I felt something on my foot. I looked down and saw a tiny little spider crawling rapidly into the leg of my jeans. I knew I couldn’t catch it or get it out. I felt fear come over me like I never had before.

I took off running for safety downstairs removing every bit of clothing. I was screaming hysterically, which really frightened my sister who was 12 at the time. She screamed with me yelling “What’s wrong!? Sonya! what’s wrong!?!” She couldn’t figure it out and my speech, she said, was unintelligible.

What she did know, was that I’d removed my clothes, completely, while running down the stairs, without stopping. She still speaks of how impressed and amazed she was with my speed and agility.

She says she thought maybe I was on fire. “How do you take jeans and panties off while you run down stairs?” How? I was a prodigy, they just didn’t know it. I should have been an athlete.

I’ve gotten better. True progress, is not stripping down or crying when I’ve seen a spider on me. Because I can now do that, I know I can do anything. I am powerful.

I still don’t play with spiders though.