"Caterpillars" in the Kitchen and the Grossest Day Ever.

One morning we awoke to a plethora of caterpillars crawling on the kitchen floor in all directions. They were white like milk and very energetic, like they had some where to go, some secret mission that motivated them to move quickly. Meryl accidentally stepped on one, rendering him a greasy spot on the timber floor, and she would have been appalled about having caused such a dreadful death if not for the number of "extra" ones. Micah Jade immediately picked up one and commenced cradling him lovingly, calling him, "little guy" in affectionate tones. She stroked him tenderly with her little finger as she wandered about, unable to turn her eyes away from such a rare treasure. My big girls, still missing their dog, found the caterpillars delightful, and began plans to round them all up to take to the "nature table," where they would be the subject of observation and experiments, and the food of their beloved lizards. Since, earlier in spring, the silk worms had not fared very well, perhaps these worms would be a new chance to watch something develop. Wouldn't it be nice to see a set of moths emerge in a few weeks? We were all so enthralled for about two minutes.


I have noticed that in summer in Australia, there are a lot of commercials for different types of sprays that kill flying insects. In every commercial, flies, along with roaches and mossies (mosquitoes) are portrayed as nasty and sloppy bugs that have evil intentions toward families. Flies also seem to have New York accents in the commercials here-which I find curious. (I have never seen a commercial that portrayed flies as evil in the USA). I haven't bought any spray because it didn't seem necessary. Why would I want to spray a substance into the air which kills everything it touches? Would I want my family to breathe something like that in? Would I want that sort of toxicity falling on my benchtops in my kitchen (countertops for Americans) where I prepare food for people I love? Wouldn't it be better to just live with a few flies?


In fact, considering the level of environmental consciousness and general mindfulness about conservation, I was quite surprised that there was even a market for such a product--that was before I found the caterpillars in my kitchen. As they crawled, we observed where the concentration of critters was highest--near the trash can! All at once realization dropped into my mind like a ton of manure--MAGGOTS! Micah Jade is carrying a maggot around, talking tenderly to a nasty fly larva while she strokes his squirmy germiness! AHHHHHHH!


Greg, our resident brave one, was called in as reinforcement and together we swept up the aggressive little nasties. He took out the crawly trash bag and removed the can to the patio outside where it could be washed. I had to pry the maggot from the loving fingers of two-year-old Micah Jade, which was terrible for both of us, especially because he was squished in the skirmish. I think the big girls acquired a few to feed the lizards with a dustpan, but I was to traumatized to bother correcting them.

As a mom, I handle gross stuff pretty well. After all, when engineers and architects breed, they produce kids that are both mechanical and creative, and that makes for some terrible household catastrophes. I've cleaned completely disassembled (again) toys, "special" cornflakes stored in the sock drawer, mud body paint and mud sculptures, dead, dried lizards, oatmeal sculptures, spaghetti throw-up, poo paintings, pretend toilet soup, and the list goes on, but nothing could compare to the "caterpillars" on the floor. This may well be the most disgusting mess ever to occur in my family (although I hear Australia has leeches, so there is hope for a story even worse than this one at some point). So, until the unfortunate day when we encounter something worse, this day will live in infamy as the grossest day ever in my household. . .and I think I am finally ready to buy toxic fly spray!