Teachable moments can be COOL!

After my long weekend working 18 hours in a 30 hour time period (6pm to 6am, 6pm to midnight) I rose bright and early with hubby. He was headed to his part time job that fills his off weekdays and I to complete the grass mowing. The weather forecasted this week is excess of 100 degrees so I cannot imagine he will work outside all day and then come home to do it too. Wife of the year award safely in the bag I yawn, stretch and hop onto the walk behind. Irony of things is that you do not walk behind this commercial size mower but instead stand on a small platform that swivels. Hubby always look sexy to me watching his hips sway in the natural action of the entire process. I don't know if I look the same myself but the fact remains I am helping him out like he does for me.
Like too many things on the property the mower needs a new battery so it has to be jump started with the battery box. Praise God we are slowly but steadily checking off the needs repair items. Due to the extra steps in starting it I am intent to not let anything disturb me from my end goal, a freshly cut yard. I do the furtherest places first in order to let sleeping children lie coupled with not waking my parents next door either. Eventually I head to the area next to the building. I have never done this area (considering this is my 3rd or 4th time mowing total). I make one pass that leads to the back of it and circle around the head back out finishing the not so wide entrance. On the way out I am taken by surpise when a unknown flying insect attacks my arm. Attack cannot even describe the pain, it is like I was injected by a needle to the bone and I scream in agony. Quickly I swing my only free arm (one hand must remain on the mower or it stops) and bat at the area. Hindsight tells me this was probably ridiculious as the predator did his damage and disappeared. Still riding and convulsing in pain I make my way to the last area of the yard directly behind my house. I no longer care that I will wake the sleeping kids mowing right outside their windows. I am murmering, fighting back tears and questioning if this is really as bad as it feels. I was stung by a wasp one other time many years ago. It hurt but I endured. This was NOT the same.
My task driven, never give up, never say die personality forces me on. The very instant it is finished I park it, hop off and for the lack of a better term make a bee line to mud. It is so hot and dry I have to make my own but the coolness doesn't do its trick, the throbbing continues. Medically trained I know pain is not an indictator of severity and my breathing checks ok so just deal with it I tell myself. I however feel free to wine just a bit via text to hubby and my SIL upon dropping off her kids. As the day moves on the swelling goes down but then the redness expands and it is currently puffy, red and a tish like a big hive. It throbs above and below too. When hubby gets home I again share and complain. He determines in his " I have know the outdoors" way it must have been a ground hornet. We head out together, he armed with spray to locate the spot. I feel like he is my night in shining army attacking those that harmed me. I know really he was taking care of it so he didn't get hurt when he mowed, or the kids but well let me be whisked away on the horse O.K, LOL.

About to give up, lessening my recount he writes it off and BOOM I see it. The nearly perfect hole the dug in the ground. It was not under foot but where the ground slopes up on the side of the access area. Standing there we both can hear the buzzing from under the ground. It literally sounds like hundreds are in there. We both make eye contact in that "this is eery" yell at the tv screen DON'T DO IT, FLEE kind of way. He sprays his heart out and stomps on the ground because my well versed man says the vibrations are what stirs them out. One makes it way to the surface and he sprays while I run. Clearly we came to a gun fight with a stick. Hubby in his their not gonna lick me determination that attracted him to me in the first place decided we will burn em' out. Yep he is a Firefighter, Fire Fire real goooood. ( I write it that way because you have to drawl out the good part to say it correctly.

I notify the children because what fun would it be to do this alone and grab the camera. Maybe, just maybe the pain was worth the learning. Maybe....

The oohs and ahs never get old. We watch as the spray chemical now oozes its way back out of the hole and the buzzing can still be heard for a short time. Once the fire seems sufficient hubby retrieves a shovel and opens up the previous home. Inside we see a perfectly round area, the hive with eggs still in place, a Queen, several dead bodies and a second entrace. There is also another hole in which many more bees are located down deeper. Hubby kills the few stragglers, burns out the secondary hole/nest and we all inpect the Queen. I do wish I would have scooped her up in a cup and taken home to show off a bit. I mean how many of you have seen a Queen bee up close? She is more than double the size of the bees and kinda beautiful in an insect way.

Through the process we do notice red hornets (as hubby calls them not sure of the real name BRIGHT red large wasp kinda bees). He says those are the scary one's and snuffs their home out too..much more carefully which was fairly entertaining from a VERY FAR DISTANCE. I think I will have flash backs for some time when something buzzes by me. A day later as the swelling is slightly reduced it appears I was stung not once, not twice but 5 times. YOWZA!
Sitting here still in discomfort I will nurse my wounds and count my blessings. Plus well I will acknowledge that I think today I love my husband more than ever before. Not just cause he rescued me from a repeat but because we get each other in the quirkest ways.
Lastly, #4 has to add her own moment of cuteness all things bug related. Daddy notices a tick, inspecting all the kids she is the only host. But unlike her siblings she calls it her baby and is concerned about its whereabouts. Daddy puts it in scotch tape to sufficate it and allow her to still believe it is alive. She pretends to find more in my head and Daddy's for an hour. Wishing it a good night I sure do hope she doesn't believe it will remain as her playmate.CRAZY girl!