Last Saturday my son almost died...

Yes, you read that correctly. Last Saturday my son almost died. He is FINE. Let me put that out there for all of you before you worry too much.

How did he almost die?

My son picked up a rattlesnake. A young, very venomous, very real rattlesnake. I know it was a rattlesnake because I took a picture of it at the end of it all.

He WASN'T bitten. I don't know how. I don't know why. I am just very thankful.

Now that you know all the important parts I will begin the story.

I had decided to take my husband and family camping for fathers day. My husband loves to camp. I hate it. I hate it even more now. Anyways, I went shopping and purchased all the food required for this weekend retreat. Gram crackers, marsh mellows, chocolate... can you tell we made smores? I also picked up some chicken and potatoes for dutch oven cooking. Yum. My husband was in charge of packing the tent, sleeping bags, and all the other camping equipment. He did a great job.

Saturday morning my husband went and picked out a camping spot up Logan Canyon. Guinavah-Malibu was his camp site of choice. The site was great. Close to the bathrooms and nicely shaded. He took the kids up early and set up camp. I had to work until 5:30 p.m. that night, so I arrived around 7:00 p.m. I finally arrive and the kids go nuts. The are very excited that I am there. The really cool feature at this particular campsite is there is an amphitheater. My husband and I actually got married there.

My husband and kids all brought their guitars so they wanted to perform on the stage. We go up and they all take turns performing. My husband plays real songs while my kids strum and make up songs. Quite entertaining. It is fun to hear what they come up with. During my daughters performance my son goes down the side steps to come around and sit by me. He decided, I guess, to go the "long" way. Then he starts calling me,"Hey Mom! Come here!" He sounded really excited and honestly WAS. /shudders I stand up and walk behind the amphitheaterwhere he is now located. He bends down and picks up a snake and starts laughing.
Alright, we ALL now know how much I really HATE snakes. Any snakes.

Here is the dialog and my observations at this point:
Me: PUT THAT SNAKE DOWN!
Son: Why? Is it venomous?
(At this particular time I cannot tell that it is a rattlesnake. I am about 15 feet away and it is small. It also looked slightly yellow to me, but alarm bells were ringing in my head.)
Me: I DON'T KNOW. PUT THE SNAKE DOWN!
Son: I want to show dad.
Me: PUT THE SNAKE DOWN!
Son: If I swing it this way mom it can't bite me.
(He starts swinging the snake in a circle. He is holding the snake by the tail. He also starts running towards me since he KNOWS I am scared of snakes.)
Son: Dad! I got a snake!
Dad: Let me see it.
Me: PUT THE SNAKE DOWN! (seems this is all I could say)
Dad: (takes snake by tail) Um, this is a Rattlesnake Brigitte.)
Me: SON, GET AWAY FROM YOUR DAD NOW!!! THAT SNAKE IS POISONOUS!
(My son steps away and I pull him back. My husband walks away and puts the snake down. FINALLY)
Me: Son, did you get bitten? Honestly, tell me now. Did the snake bite you? I need to know if I have to take you to the hospital right now.
Son: Um... no.
Me: Son, you have to tell me now. Did it bite you anywhere?
Son: NO MOM!
(My husband comes back now)
Me: Dad, did the snake bite you?
Dad: No.
Me: Are you sure? Check.
(This is when I personally check my son and husband for bites. I honestly don't believe either of them.)

In conclusion, both my son and husband are fine. Neither was bitten. I have checked my son at least five times a day since this event. I keep looking at his feet and hands. I know how serious this is. If that snake would have bitten my son he would most likely be dead right now. At the least his arm would have been amputated. The smaller rattlesnakes supposedly have three times the concentrate of venom. I am very thankful that this didn't end up a tragedy. Around 8000 people are bitten each year by venomous snakes in the United States. Around 15 of them die each year. Most of the deaths occur in children and people who weigh less than 120 lbs. I've been studying. Just go to the links to read for yourself.

I am very relieved, but I am also very angry. I am angry at myself that I didn't teach my son better. I have a snake book and have often read it to him. I have shown him what a rattlesnake looks like. We have a lot around here. I am very angry with myself for not explaining in absolute detail what we should do when we see this type of snake. I have said that we leave them alone and get away. Obviously it wasn't enough. Now he knows that he is NOT allowed to pick up any snakes at all, unless his dad says he can. NO SNAKES. NONE. So if his dad is not there... too bad. I made this point clear. I make it clear everyday.

I have also cried everyday. The emotions that go through me astound me. One second I am fine, and then the next I am bawling. I can't help it. I just keep thinking "what if?" I really could use some type of muscle relaxer, Valium, mind-altering drug (not that I am endorsing them at all) to get my mind off of this. I have to take Tylenol PM at night just to finally fall asleep. I hope this goes away someday. Any advice?

I love my son.
I love my husband.
I love my daughter.
I love my parents.
I love my friends. All of you.

Life... or something like it.

Life...

For all of you that KNOW, things are officially on the upside in my life right now.

Or something like it...

My son gets out of school on Friday. I am not looking forward to this at all. Not at all. To tell you the truth, most parents have the same feelings that I do. We love our kids. We really do. It is just that three months is a LONG time.

The thing that is the hardest for me in the summer is my kids complaining about being bored. I really try hard to have activities for them to do almost every day, but it is hard. I set up play dates, we go on walks or hikes, we camp and barbecue, we visit friends, we go to grandmas, we go on vacations, and we watch movies and t.v. It really doesn't matter because my kids get bored. I just get annoyed.

So just plan on me going nuts here in the next few months.

now i lay me down to sleep

and i hope i don't forget a whole bunch of shit for tomorrow.

i've got a client coming into town. i'm smashing dinner with him and his wife between the end of work and my softball game. so...i need to take all my softball shit to work. cleats, shirt, socks, mitt. check.

i hope i don't leave my laptop at home ever again. i did that like two weeks ago. great smoke drive, crappy for the gas budget. next time i do that, i am staying at home. no exceptions!!

i haven't even washed my face yet and it's 11:15 p.m. helllllls bells. NOT happy about that. the dog also needs to go pee.

why the hell am i sitting here typing? that's a damn good question. i implore you to give me some possible answers.

i've got to be all dressed up tomorrow. yay. double yay!

i got summoned for jury duty again. this is the second time in about a month. last time, i didn't have to go. this time, i'll reckon i'll get out of it again. my profession alone ought to be enough to exclude me. keep your fingers crossed. i'll tell you all about my job later. trust me...it's not that cool. it's not exotic, it's not ritzy and quite frankly, i am sorry i even brought it up.

well, my battery on my laptop is about to die. i guess this is it for me tonight.

but...i am not even close to being finished!!!