By Marilyn Norford
I don’t like spiders and snakes. That’s pretty much my mantra, and that of most of my friends of the feminine persuasion.
That being said, one of the most convenient features of my house is the laundry room. It is good-sized and in addition to housing a convenient, deep laundry sink and the obligatory washer and dryer, there are wonderful enclosed cabinets. They are such great places to store many things, including specialized baking and serving utensils infrequently used. They might, however, harbor scary beasts.
But I digress…. In a convenient corner sits a heavy-duty 8-foot tall, 5 shelf metal shelving unit, which serves as pantry shelving for canned foods, non-perishable food items, and has its own special shelf dedicated to cat food supplies.
A while back, as I entered the room to grab an item off the pantry shelf, a fast-moving spider ran out from under that shelving unit. I THINK it might have been a black widow at the very least – possibly a tarantula, although I purposely buy bananas a few at a time so that I won’t inadvertently bring in a stowaway from a banana boat. I didn’t know how fast this old lady could move, and thank God I was wearing shoes. I don’t like killing God’s little creatures, but I’m fairly certain this one was sent from a wicked, fallen angel.
I have not rested easy since. That very day, I went out and bought a can of spider spray, which will shoot out to a distance of 20 feet. A busy schedule has kept me from cleaning out that corner shelving unit, but I did so today. Dressed in armor of long pants with the legs tucked into some tube socks, and of course, SHOES, I ventured into the room. I carefully unloaded everything on the shelving unit into the nearby kitchen table, wiped the shelves with great trepidation, then grabbed the can of spider spray and took it outside to test that it was loaded and ready to go into action when necessary.
To the drum of an overactive heartbeat, I turned that shelving unit onto its side, gingerly stepping out of the way of the almost assured wave of attacking arachnids.
Nothing. There were a few ancient, dusty cobwebs in one corner of the unit I have scoured every inch of the shelving unit, mopped the floor in the spot that it sits, and just for a preventative measure, squirted some of the spider spray toward the back, in a spot that the cats can’t possibly reach.
The freshly cleaned unit will now be rearranged with all the replacement items, but I will now have to clean every corner and spot of that room, eyes on constant alert, to be assured that there is not an arachnid army lying in wait.
Carpe Diem, Y’all! (And stay out of dark, scary corners!)