This morning the boy and I were lying on the couch in the front room after he got up a little earlier than I wanted. He was reclined next to me watching some PBS as I was "resting" my eyes comfortably snuggled in a blanket. In my semi-unconscious state, I felt something hit my neck. It felt like the boy had flung a rubber band at me. As I reached across my body to retrieve the rubber band from my neck it occurred to me that maybe it wasn't a rubber band.
It was not a rubber band. It was not a toy spider. It was not a spit ball. It was not a myriad of things I could only wish it was.
And no, it was not a spider.
It was a freaking centipede! Oh my goodness gracious. A real, live, creepy, crawly, super scary, fantastically terrible centipede ON MY NECK!
In that instant of realization that whatever had "hit" my neck was not an inanimate object, I grabbed it and threw it across the room while simultaneously screeching to my husband at the top of my lungs. Fortunately, he came running and saved the day by quickly discarding of the evil, forcipule bearing creature.
I think it looked like this:
Although it was black...I think. I'm too scared to look in the garbage bin to find out. I'm scared that sucker (or biter) will be mysteriously missing and has somehow come back to life and on the hunt for me. Likely, I know.
Please don't confused this for the common House Centipede.
He's looking at you! Don't worry.
Yeah, right! He's actually harmless, and quite helpful. He eats other bugs, like spiders. I'm afraid of him too.
But that other beast....maybe not so benign or friendly. Yup. From my extensive web research I have discovered that it was possibly venomous and could have bitten me. Probably not likely or lethal, but possible and not beneficial. And you know as well as I do, the web has all the answers!
Dramatic much? Perhaps, but that sucker dropped from the ceiling, onto my neck, while I was half asleep. How dramatic would you be if it happened to you?
Actually, I think it dropped from the air vent that I was lying directly under. What are the chances of that happening??? YIKES! I think I won't be lying, or sitting, under that vent for a long, long time.
Would you?