Day. Ten.

Something you're afraid of.

The easiest answer to this question - at least, according to my husband or my dad - would be, "Everything."

And yes, I suppose it's true. I have a lot of fears, and I always have.

When I was younger, I was never one to try new things, athletically.

I was afraid I'd fall out of a tree. 

I was afraid I'd get caught if I did something wrong.

I was afraid of being kidnapped.

As I got older, my fears turned into things that were probably a bit more substantial.

A fear of elevators.

This is huge for me. I struggle enough with getting to the 5th floor of the school in downtown. But there have been times when I was faced with something much larger - i.e. traveling 60 stories in an outside elevator in Vegas (and, ahem, getting STUCK), or getting to the very top of the John Hancock building in Chicago. Those were tough for me, and I can honestly say my fear originated with the movie Speed.

Thanks, Keanu.

A fear of flying.

And no, marrying a pilot does not help. It almost makes things worse. You can imagine the stories I have heard from Tom, including things like losing engines, doors opening mid-flight, stalls, what causes the tail of an airplane to just fall off, inexperienced pilots...I could go on and on.

In many ways, it has helped, though. I'll admit that. Turbulence usually scares the crap out of me. I've been known to grab strangers, and scream, "I don't want to die!!" But he consistently reminds me that it's nothing more than air pockets - bumps in the road. And that eases the tension a little.

Emphasis on a little.

I suppose my greatest fear now is anything ever happening to Thad.

That child is always in my sight, and I will intentionally avoid playgrounds where I can't see a full view of all that is going on, including a straight view to the entrance and exit.

I have nightmares about the movie Changeling.

I think my entire world would be shattered if I ever lost him for any reason.

My other great fear?

Spiders.

OMG. Spiders.

This particular spider had built her home spanning the entire length of our sliding glass door. We had been gone for a little over a week, and when we came home, she was nice and cozy, outside.

At first, I wanted her gone. But, the more she was there, the more fascinated I became. She was HUGE. This picture is pretty close to size. She stuck around for about a week before I decided it was time for her to go. My reasoning?

One day, I noticed that she was cleaning house. Just getting rid of her web. 

In addition to that, homegirl had become super hostile. Like, if we got anywhere near the door, she would raise up and shake herself over and over as if to warn us.

I'm sorry, is that a threat?

So, I didn't know if (a) she was going to clean up and rebuild in order to lay a whole bunch of baby spiders, or (b) she was going to move to another home. And if she moved, where was she going to be? What if she moved into our house? No thank you.

So, Tom got his marching  orders.

It was actually kind of sad when he killed her. Ahem. Hit her with a baseball bat. I actually heard it. It was disgusting. But, I have to say, I could rest a little easier at night.

There is nothing scarier than a humondo spider taking up residence outside of your home. That's one of the main reasons why I could never live in Texas again.