On Wednesday I had a pretty impressive parenting fail and, obviously, thought I would share it with you. I had spent the day decorating the spare room, painting it a very exciting magnolia colour (better than the glossy pink previously).
The children had been at the childminders all day, so I'd had a peaceful painting session. I brought them home and said I would show them the painting I had done. I quickly ran downstairs and got their tea on, ran back upstairs and carried them both up to the spare room. The ladder had been left in the middle of the room, and paint was drying all over the place (mainly the walls though).
"Can I climb up the ladder?" my three year old son asked.
"Of course you can darling"
"Will you put your hand behind my back so that I don't fall?"
"Absolutely"
My daughter was on the floor, toddling ever closer to the roller and wet paint that I had forgotten to put away and my son was very near the top of the step-ladder, my arm behind him as he climbed.
"Mummy" my son said, "look at that".
He pointed to my shoulder.
I looked to my left to see a spider marching purposefully towards my face.
"Aaaaaaarrrrrggggghhhh" I screamed, flinging clothes off as fast as I could, in full view of the neighbours as I had taken the curtains down to decorate.
"Waaaaahhhhh" my daughter burst into tears, in total shock at the events and her mother behaving like a crazy, crazy woman.
"Hahahaha. That was really funny Mummy" my son sniggered. "Can I come down now?"
I have done so well to control my phobia around my children. But, in that split second, the surprise of the stupid spider made me lose the ability to do anything other than get it away from me. I only hope I can hold it together better the next time one decides to scare the living daylights out of me.
