It Takes An Army

I have come to realize that there must be a plan afoot this summer by all my creatures near and dear to work me through my snake phobia. There has been too many encounters on my very doorstep to be coincidental. I am not amused.
Tonight as I went marching down our path in the woods to our driveway with Aidan hot on my tail to investigate damage to the front end of our car caused by a hit and run, I noticed Russell lying in the grass beside the trail playing with what I assumed was a mouse.  As I stood looking at the dent in the grill and lamenting the poor driving habits of others, Aidan said very quietly beside me "Do not look at my hands".  I immediately looked at his hands. He was cupping something. He repeated "Do not look at my hands. Russell had brought you a snake". I wheeled around to Russell who had followed us down the trail after Aidan had scooped his prize and said "I am going to slap you Russell". Russell immediately threw himself upon the ground to show me his white furry tummy. As I marched back up the path to the safety of the house I involuntarily reached down to tickle that white furry stomache before I even knew what I was doing. It was not until I reached the house that I realized that I had not unleashed one of my customary blood curdling screams. Beyond a brief moment in which I felt an urge to unleash violence upon the critter that had brought a snake into my inner circle, I was doing OK. Yes, not even a whimper. As I sit here in a bubble bath chugging wine straight from the bottle, I am thinking that my army of critters might be making some progress with me....and they can stop now.