Kudos to My Harris Teeter Hero

It's always my luck. Somehow bugs just know how to find me and make me look like a total spaz in public. So, today's blog goes out to the nameless (and fearless) grocery store clerk who rescued Maeve and me. Here's how the story goes:

Maeve was asleep in her car seat so I knew I had limited time to get in and get out before she woke up hungry. As I walked in and put her car seat in the front section of our cart, I noticed a rather large dragonfly bouncing around the glass windows by the door. I remember thinking, "phew! Glad I will be in and out of this vestibule to avoid that guy."

So, I grabbed my cart and headed for the produce section. When I arrived, I tested a few different cantalopes until I found one with appropriate squishy-ness (is that a word? probably not. you know what I mean). I headed back to the cart to place it inside and there was a giant (creepy!!) Praying Mantis on the inside of my cart!!! It's head slowly (calculatingly) turned to take me in. The thing had to be 4 inches, easy. It was brown - I thought they were green! why is it brown!? - and it had scary spiked front legs. Ew, ew, ew!

If you need more visual confirmation of their threatening presence, peep this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis

Let's recap: at one end of my cart is a beautiful, peaceful sleeping baby and at the other a malicious insect rabid for baby blood (well, you can't prove it wasn't). What would you do? I did what any mother on her own would do in that situation. I grabbed the first store clerk who was close enough to hear me yelp in panic. The yelp went something like this:

Me: "(high-pitched) Aah...excuse me, sir?"

Sir: "Pete, we need more lettuce in the...yes?" (he redirects his walk to head in our direction)

Me: "I'm terrified of bugs and there is a huge praying mantis on my cart."

Sir: "Where?"

Me: "There. [He (valiantly) grabbed it around the belly and walked off.] Oh, thank you! Thank you!"

Sir: "Yup."

My knight in shining armor! My very busy knight in shining armor...that headed toward the lettuce section and not the front door or back room to dispose of his new friend. Should I be concerned that the mean mantis might make a home in the salad section? No. I will not. I trust that the knight disposed of the creature in a manner befitting its reputation. But I might stay away from the greens for a week or two, just in case.

And thus concludes yet another story where bugs make me look like a complete and total idiot in public. True. Story.