Insects

My oldest hates insects. Well, he doesn't really hate them, he is completely frightened of them. I have probably already written about this. I will say again if I have not said it already, it is a hindrance and a problem. If he hates insects, he hates Spring and Summer. If he hates insects, he carefully avoids any flower, flowering tree, long grass, you get it. If he hates insects he screams when a bee comes anywhere near him. If he can see the bee from far away that means it is a large one and he will scream at that too. He will even scream if it is outside and he is inside, safe with the window screen in front of him. Sometimes I am stupid and thoughtless and want to get all "Ralph Waldo Emerson". I will try to take the kids to the park by walking there and it is a chore. I have to literally threaten them (mainly the oldest) by telling him that if he can not calm down and act normal on a walk without complaining and going crazy, he can just spend the rest of the afternoon in his room and enjoy the scenery there. So a dear friend gave me an idea that I would buy some "Off!" and keep him happy and protected with that. He read the label and saw that it didn't protect him from bees. He figures that wards off enough insects, so he does have me faithfully spray it on him anytime he needs to take a step outside---to get a paper, to play, to go to the car to get to the store, you know, when you need to go out. Outside. The horrors of OUTSIDE. Man of the House says that we need to just get him a "charm" (he was joking) to ward off the bees. A "bee taming charm".
Yesterday a kid saw that he had a scrape on his ankle and told him that he must have gotten bit by a black widow. He came inside very concerned (but under control) and had me look at it. I said, "It's a scrape. Spiders don't scrape you, they bite." He had a hard time believing me. He said, "Well, you ought to pull out the manual to make sure, Mom. You never can be too careful, you know. He told me that I will most likely feel very weary tonight----I don't want to die." He said something like that.
I try to convince him that bees don't hurt you unless you antagonize them, but he still does not care. If it buzzes, he freaks out. If it flies, he is flying. Dear Sir and I wonder how he would be like with the Cicada outbreak every 16 years. I am almost certain he would have a heart attack and kick the bucket. Thankfully we missed it. It would be his Twilight Zone episode.
So I have to take the kids somewhere today. The response from my oldest: "There are too many bees there, Mom, I am not going." See what I mean?