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 Slice of Life.

It was our first warm spring day, temps reaching the 80’s.

In the northwest, as summer approaches and the earth’s axis tilts toward the sun, the sun is actually closer to us than it is to our southern sister states. And its rays are more direct. That means that our second story bedrooms get quite warm on a mild 80-degree sunny afternoon. Add to that the fact that many older homes do not have central air conditioning. Some use window units that are often uninstalled during the winter months so we can seal against the cold. So when, on the first days of warm weather our bedrooms get hot, we open windows to cool them.

So on our first warm spring day, my daughter flung open windows letting in the fresh air and cooling the bedrooms. The window which holds the air conditioning unit all summer has screens that fit loosely around the border. Therefore, as dusk began to fall, she turned off the bedroom lights — lest they attract a hoard of unwelcome neighborhood insects.

From the upstairs darkness, my daughter heard EM’s voice calling for help.

EM:  Mommy-ee. Mommy-eeee. I neeeeed you.

Four-year-old EM is sitting in the bathroom with the lights turned off.

Mommy:  EM, why are you in the dark?

EM:  ‘Cause I’m scared.

Now this is a puzzlement. Wasn’t it just last week that EM was scared of the dark, but here she is sitting in the dark by her own choice. And she is saying she has chosen the dark because she’s scared?

Mommy:  What are you scared of?

EM, in a matter of fact voice:  ‘Cause I’m scared of the bugs. They can’t see in the dark.  They don’t eat carrots.

* * * *

Bug wisdom from EM:  Scared of bugs? Turn off the lights so the bugs can’t see you!

* * * *

I think we will be hearing a lot more bug wisdom from EM this summer.

Thank you Two Writing Teachers
for hosting  2017 Slice of Life Story Challenge

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