Saturday #19--He Almost Got Away

It was just a regular Monday. Eve had finished her lunch and unsuccessfully lobbied me for a no-nap day. I was sorting through the final loads of laundry, ready to tackle the next item on my list as soon as the washers were spinning.

Immediately I knew.

I didn't even need to see him to know what he had done.

I yanked my hand out of the hamper and saw a tiny drop of venom still lingering on the site where he had struck.

I began shouting, "OW! OW! OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!"

I added, "YOU LITTLE BOOGER! WHERE ARE YOU?"

I moved a few stray socks out of the way, and that's when I found him.

I've learned that scorpions don't scamper away like cockroaches. They hunker down in a good hiding spot and try to wait you out. I knew I had time, so I raced to the sink and washed my stinging, pulsing, quickly numbing finger. 

"You little BOOGER! OW!! OW!!"

I could hear Evie from her bedroom, asking with concern in her voice, "Mommy? Are you okay? Mommy? What's wrong?" 

I couldn't even answer her until I had expunged the world of my perpetrator. Since I was shoeless, I grabbed the closest hard, flat object I could find--a glass vase from the counter. Didn't care it was glass. Just knew it would do the job.

I carefully moved the socks one at a time. There he was, hiding like he was all innocent or something. 

I've been stung twice before (I posted about one of them here), but once you've been stung, you never forget.

The deadening. The numbness. The pain.

Since I was stung on a finger, the venom didn't have very far to spread its effects, and it was intense. The site of the sting was dead numb for three days, while the tingling sensation spread up my arm almost to my elbow. Any time my finger was touched even slightly, it felt like an electric shock was shooting up my arm--like licking a 9-volt battery. By Tuesday, the tingling was decreasing, and by Wednesday I could type a little if I didn't use my index finger. 

Last time was worse, but I still hate scorpions.

And I learned a lesson--why do laundry?