Thankful For :: 381 - 390

Thanks to Blogger - this post didn't go up on Friday morning as originally planned. Grr...
BUT...I'm thankful they got it back so I could post it at all. {sigh}

*** Warning! This post is long and there's a picture of a snake. FYI. ***

What a week of emotions! First of all, I only had to work 3 days this week, so while that equals a smaller paycheck, it also means a much happier Carrie. And a more relaxed Carrie who can get other stuff done around the house also means a happier Peter - so it's a win-win. Yay!! I'm thankful for my job - I have actually made it to that point - but the job has also made me more thankful for the time I get to spend at home. Strange how that works, eh? So that was the high point of the week, but the low points occurred on Wednesday...

I had taken lunch out to Peter and was planning to spend the afternoon cooking up some freezer meals so that we wouldn't find ourselves eating out quite so much. I got the chicken put in a pot of water to boil and decided to take the trash out. I opened the front door with one hand and was holding the trash in the other when I looked down and between my feet (where the front door was closed before) and the glass storm door, there was something black and slithering. Yep, a big ol' black snake was making it's way across the front of my house and it's body was currently slithering right past my toes. I am beyond thankful that I didn't open the door to see a snakes head because I'd probably be dead from a heart attack instead of writing this post.

It took a second to register what I was seeing before I closed the door - making sure to lock it just in case the snake tried the knob - hesitated between setting the trash down and taking it with me, finally decided to take it with me to grab the phone and then ended up on a stool in the kitchen in a full-blown meltdown while dialing Peter's number. Poor guy! When he answered he thought I had been in a car wreck on the way home because I couldn't even talk and then he finally caught the words "snake" and "house".

This technically isn't one of my "things you don't know about me" lists, but for the record - I have a full-blown phobia of snakes. I looked it up and it's called Ophidiophobia - "the abnormal fear of snakes". My picture was used in the article. Kidding, just kidding - but it could have been. I lose all sense of reality, I hyperventilate, I cry uncontrollably, I make a complete and utter fool of myself and don't seem to care, and my normally rational, logical self goes away completely. Two years ago, when Peter saw my reaction to a snake for the first time, he was shocked. He had never seen me this way - shoot - I had never seen myself that way! I knew I didn't like snakes, but I didn't know I would turn into a sobbing, shaking mess of a girl.

Long story short (too late!), I was on the phone with Peter for a long time, he offered to come home which helped snap me out of it because there was no reason for him to take off work to look for a snake who was probably long gone if he wasn't hiding under my couch. {see the rationality I was showing?} Instead I went out the back door, got in the car and drove around to the front of the house to see if the snake was still there. {Very rational} When I couldn't tell, I drove to our neighbor's house - two doors up - and asked him to come down and look for the snake, which he did while I stood in front of his house. Yes, he's a very nice man. Of course the snake was long gone, so I went back to the house and spent the afternoon standing on stools and chairs and generally keeping my feet off of the floor as much as possible until Peter came home at the normal time. Once he searched the house (including looking under the couch - granted, he was laughing at the time) and outside the house, I went back to 99% normal. Ophidiophobia = I'm a mess when there's a snake around. It also reminded me that Genesis 3:14-15 rings true: Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Peter almost had to carry me past this snake when we came upon it in Indonesia - and it wasn't harmless like a black snake (and we were hours away from any medical care). Thankfully, it seemed bored by us!

So this week I'm thankful...

381. That it was only a black snake

382. That the snake was outside and not inside

383. That our neighbor was home and was kind enough to come check it out for me

384. An organized freezer with pre-made meals

385. DollarTree - I love that store!

386. Two days off from work and getting stuff done at home

387. Doctors, nurses, modern medicine, and a family member being in the right place at the right time

388. A husband who laughs, but truly cares when I'm freaked out

389. Monk - a show that can make me feel normal again

390. Peter has made the list many times, but it's his turn again - his birthday's tomorrow and I'm so thankful for him. I'm thankful for his work ethic, his patience, his sense of humor, his encouragement, his positive attitude, the way he cares for me, how much fun we have together, his love of Dunkin' Donuts coffee and blueberry bagels, his smile, his laugh, and that God has given him 36 great years with (Lord willing) many, many more to come!

I love you, Honey! Happy Birthday!