You Have Nothing to Fear...

(Blog Challenge: Something you're afraid of)

But bats! Hello. My name is Staci and I am afraid of bats. Deathly afraid. I'm not entirely sure where this fear began. Growing up I lived in an older home. Bats called our attic home. I have memories from very early on of bats in our house. My mom and dad kept a tennis racket under their bed. I believe it was the day I discovered this that my fear stepped up to the next level.

I have vivid memories of a slumber party in elementary school. My friends and I were laying on the carpet in the living room and thought we saw a bird. Nope...bat. Then there was the time I was laying in my bedroom, trying to fall asleep. I squinted in the dark and saw a black figure swooping around my room. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Nope...bat. In all my pregnant glory I stayed with my mom and dad and thought I heard a knock at the door. I thought it was someone stopping in to admire my growing belly. Nope...bat.

I think what I hate most about this animal is how sneaky they are. They can hide in the tiniest spaces and are essentially  impossible to spot. My fear was so out of control that once dusk hit in the summer, I hated going outside. If I could look up in the sky and see the bats, I was done. I hated sitting outside at softball games. I hated being at the pool at night because I knew the bats would be swooping overhead.

I had a student this year who LOVED bats. The child researched them, wrote about them, drew pictures of them. Every time the student learned something new about them they would run to me and share it. It helped a little...like the tiniest bit. I am still completely terrified but am doing a little better with being outside at night.

Now I feel like a complete baby. Andplusalso, I am terrified of death.