BLUE JAY BAND

I was sitting in the living room, not really doing anything except staring off into space, when my son Alex came in. “What’s got you so deep in thought?” He asked.

I hadn’t heard him come into the room so I was taken a bit by surprise. “Oh.” I shook off my daydreaming. “I don’t know if I’d say it was deep thought.”

“Not trying to solve the world’s problems?” He came over and sat on the couch next to me.

“Well, not unless blue jays have become a world problem.” I laughed.

Alex looked confused. “What about blue jays?”

“Well, I was wondering why there are so many blue jays in our back yard.” I got up and went to the dining room window. “They’re not squawking like a hawk is around.” I was pointing to a couple of blue jays who were hopping around in circles chasing each other. “They’re just hanging out.”

Alex had followed me to the window. “Okay. So you’re not solving world problems.” He laughed as he patted me on the shoulder. “But you’re deep in thought about blue jays?”

“Well, when you put it that way it sounds silly.”

“Not silly at all.” He reassured me.

“Did you know that blue jays change their behavior in the fall? I looked it up.”

“I see.” Alex was tapping his finger against his chin, pretending to be deep in thought, as he nodded his head. “And how do they do that?” He asked.

I laughed as I tapped him in the ribs with my elbow. “Don’t make fun!” I cried. “I find this stuff interesting.”

He rubbed his side as if I’d hurt him. “I know you do.”

“Well, did you know a group of blue jays is called a band?” I looked over at him and raised my eyebrows.

“I did not.” He was shaking his head.

“So in the summer they stay as couples and raise their chicks. But in the fall they get together as a group to look for food.” I looked over at Alex. “They’re in the same family as crows and ravens.” I looked back out the window. “So they’re really smart birds.”

Alex pointed to the dozen jays in the trees by our bird feeders. “Looks like they found our feeders!” He looked over at me. “You’re right! These guys are geniuses!”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Okay fine. Enough about the blue jays!” I laughed as I threw my hands up in the air and started to walk away from the window when Alex called me back.

“You might want to see this.” He said.

I turned around and came back to the window. A blue jay had flown over to our deck and was sitting on the railing a few feet from where we stood. He was looking at us, tipping his head from side to side looking like he was trying to figure us out.

I looked over at Alex and raised my eyebrows again. “Do you think he knows we were talking about them?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe he’s trying to let you know it’s time to refill the feeders.”

“See!” I headed for the back door grabbing the bag of bird seed on my way. “I told you they were smart!”

“Or a little creepy.” Alex called back.

OFFLINE

I was sitting on the couch playing Solitaire on my phone when the ‘low battery’ notification appeared on my screen. “Okay. That’s it! I’m done!” I tossed my phone across the couch and watched as it landed on a pillow.

“What’s wrong?” my son Alex asked as he came out of the kitchen with his coffee mug in his hand.

I looked over at the clock. “Oh, my gosh! It’s almost noon!” I shook my head. “I’ve been sitting on the couch playing Solitaire all morning!” I looked down at my pajamas. “I haven’t even gotten dressed yet!”

Alex shook his head. “It’s Saturday. You deserve some down time.” He took a sip of coffee and moved my phone off the pillow before sitting down.

I looked out the window. “It’s a beautiful fall day and I’m wasting it.”

“Haven’t we talked about this before?” He looked over his mug as he took another sip.

“I know.” I sighed as I raised one hand up. “Hi. My name is Kathy and I’m a phone addict.”

Alex laughed as he picked up my phone. “Do you want me to put this in the other room to charge?”

“I guess so.” I watched as he put his mug down on the coffee table and took my phone into the other room.

A few moments later he came and sat on the couch again. “I’m telling you. You’re going to be so relieved to get your life back and stop looking at your phone all day.”

“It’s only on the weekends.” I corrected him. “It’s not like I’m on my phone when I’m at work!”

“But as soon as you get home…”

I cut him off before he could finish his sentence. “Okay fine! I’ll try for the weekend.”

“Good for you!” Alex stood up. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

I looked out the window then back at him. “What’s the weather for the next few hours?” I looked around for my phone. “Wait. How am I going to check the weather without my phone?”

“I know of a way.” He walked over to the front door, opened it, and stepped outside. “It’s beautiful out.” He called back to me.

“Very funny.” I said as I got up and headed for my room. “I just need to take a quick shower and I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”

“Great.” He walked over to the coffee table, picked up his coffee mug, and headed for the kitchen.

Both of us froze when we heard a phone ringing in the next room.

I looked over at Alex. “Maybe it’s your phone.”

“Okay.” He continued into the kitchen.

“Aren’t you going to answer it?” I called after him.

“They’ll leave a message if it’s important.” He called back.

The phone was still ringing. “What if it’s my phone?” I said to myself.

Alex came around the corner and saw me. “It’s killing you isn’t it?” He started to laugh.

“I can do this.” I said feeling a bit shaky as I took a deep breath and headed to my room again. “It’s just for the weekend.”

“I’m proud of you!” Alex called after me.

“We’ll see if I can make it.” I said under my breath as I closed my bedroom door.

WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

I was sitting on the floor surrounded by old photos when my son Alex came in the room.

“What are you doing?” He asked as he looked at the mess I was sitting in the center of.

“Reliving memories.” I sighed as I held up a photo of him with just his head sticking out of his laundry bin. “I think you were two at the time.”

Alex took the picture from me to get a closer look. “It looks like I climbed into a garbage pail.” He laughed.

“It wasn’t a garbage pail!” I cried. “It was your laundry bin!”

He handed me back the picture. “Still, seems weird.”

I looked back at the picture and couldn’t help but smile. “It wasn’t weird. I used to find you in the strangest places.” I looked up at him. “You’d climb in your toy box and cover yourself with your toys.” I laughed at the memory. “One time I even found you under a pile of clothes in your dresser drawer!”

Alex shook his head. “I guess I forgot to tell you I wanted to play hide-n-seek.”

“Oh, I knew we were playing!” I laughed. “You were certainly good at it! I don’t remember how many times I’d have to follow your giggles to find you.”

I began looking at other photos that were scattered around me. “Oh, I loved this day!” I cried as I picked up a photo of him at about three years old. “We were at Disney World and I got you that great Mickey Mouse propeller hat!”

“Oh, man.” Alex cringed. “I hated that hat.”

I had to laugh. “I found that out on the second day of our trip when I went to put it on you and you told me the propeller had ‘fallen off’!”

“What can I say?” Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I was problem solving at a young age.”

I looked back at the picture of him wearing the hat. “You had a huge smile on your face when I took this picture!” I began shaking my head. “Why didn’t you just tell me you hated it?”

“I didn’t hate it when you took the picture. But after an entire day of every Disney employees spinning the propeller on my head I decided I’d had enough!”

“You told me it just fell off.” I reminded him.

Alex shrugged his shoulders again. “I didn’t want you to be mad at me.”

I looked over at him confused. “We were all staying in the same room. When did you have time to snap the propeller off?”

Alex eyebrows shot up and he started to laugh. “I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and brought the hat in with me.”

“Are you serious?” I looked back at the picture. “But you were only three years old!”

“A strong and determined three year old.” He reminded me.

“Clearly.”

I put the picture down on the pile and looked around at all the others scattered on the floor. “There are so many stories these pictures tell.” I sighed.

“Yeah.” Alex leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “But some of the stories are remembered differently by each one of us.”

I had to smile. “You’ve got to love a nice walk down memory lane.”

SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET

My son Alex and I were driving home from the park when I noticed a house decorated for Halloween. I pointed to the two giant 8 foot skeletons on their front lawn, each holding the leash of a skeleton dog.

“You know I normally don’t like the creepy Halloween decorations but for some reason these skeletons don’t bother me.” I admitted.

“Maybe because they really don’t look scary. They look more like a cartoon.” He then pointed to several smaller skeletons sitting around a campfire, each one holding a stick with a marshmallow attached to the end. “It looks like that group is getting ready to make s’mores.” He said with a laugh.

“Oh, my gosh! I love it!” I said as I took a quick look as we drove past. “Wait until I show you the house a few blocks from ours. They have dozens of skeletons stories in their front yard!”

We were pulling into our neighborhood and the house I wanted to show him was on a cul-de-sac a few streets down.

As we turned on the street I realized they’d added even more decorations. “They didn’t have that one the last time I drove by!” I cried. There was a giant skeleton, only shown from the waist up, sitting on the roof of their two car garage. The skeleton looked as if it had broken through the roof and was trying to climb out.

“Wow! That one is huge!” Alex said.

“It covers the entire roof!” I have to say I was impressed.

We drove by slowly looking at all the other skeletons stories.

“I’m liking the skeletons on the surf boards.” Alex pointed out.

“What do you think about the skeleton in the hot tub?” I asked.

Alex nodded. “Him holding onto a pool noodle gives it a nice touch.”

“Hey, what about the ones having a picnic?” I pointed to the two sitting on a blanket with a picnic basket between them.

“Nice.” Alex was still nodding his head.

I began to slowly pull away, doing a quick turnaround in the cul-de-sac. As we were passing the house once again, I couldn’t help but stop. “Okay, I’ve been thinking about this since we got here.”

Alex looked over at me. “What?”

I pointed back to the skeleton on the roof. “Exactly where are they storing that when it’s not Halloween?” I began shaking my head. “There isn’t a closet big enough to store that in!” I pointed to all the other skeletons. “Let alone all the rest of them!”

Alex started to laugh. “That’s what you’re thinking about?”

I looked over at him. “Aren’t you?”

“Nope. It really never crossed my mind.”

“Well, I’m serious!” I looked at the skeleton on the roof. “The head alone isn’t going to fit in any closet we have.”

Alex shook his head. “Maybe they have a big attic. Maybe they use the garage for storage. Who knows what they do.”

“Exactly!” I looked over at him. “Aren’t you curious where they’re going to store them?”

“Not really. I’m just enjoying their display.” Alex patted me on the shoulder. “Maybe you should try that, too? Instead of always worrying about something.”

“Oh, if only I could.” I sighed as we drove away.

NO PHOTOS PLEASE

My husband Steven opened the front door and stuck his head in. “Okay. I’ve finished installing our new Ring camera.” He called. “Anyone want to come check it out?”

My son Alex and I went to the front door and looked at our new doorbell.

Steven held out his phone. “Once you get the app on your phone you’ll be able to see who’s at our front door even if you’re not at home.”

I looked at his phone and sure enough I could see a picture of him standing at the front door.

“It even records what is said!” Steven added.

Sure enough his phone repeated what he’d just said.

“Isn’t that great?” Steven asked as he collected the tools he’d been using and came inside.

I looked over at Alex. “I guess it’s good.”

Steven looked surprised. “What do you mean you guess?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. I just feel like we live in a society where everything is recorded.” I looked back at Alex. “I’m not sure I want everything I do to be seen.”

Steven shook his head. “You’re going to be glad I installed this once you’re at work and a package gets delivered.”

I sighed again as I turned my phone over to Steven and he began to set up the app.

Sure enough not five minutes later I was downstairs in the laundry room when I heard the alert go off on my phone. I looked at the screen and could see Steven leaving the house. “Where’s he going?” I asked myself as I watched him go to his truck to put the tools away. I put the phone on top of the dryer and I pulled some still warm towels out and began to fold them. “Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.” I said as the phone alerted me again that Steven was coming back into the house. “Interesting way to keep track of everybody.” I scooped up the folded towels and headed for the linen closet.

Several hours later I was in my bathrobe getting ready to sit down on the couch when I realized I hadn’t watered the chrysanthemums on the front porch.

Going into the kitchen I filled a pitcher with water and headed for the front door. As I was watering the plants I could hear the phone alert going off in my bathrobe pocket.

“Oh, no, no, no, no!” I cried as I dumped the remainder of the water on the plant and rushed back inside.

I put the empty pitcher on the counter top and grabbed my phone from my pocket. Going to the camera site I quickly played back the last few seconds.

Sure enough there I was in my bathrobe, hair pulled in a ponytail, barefoot, with a water pitcher in my hand grumbling about the stupid plants that always seemed to need water.

“I look awful.” I cringed. “This isn’t going to work!” I called out.

Alex came into the living room where I was standing.

“What isn’t going to work?” He asked.

I held out the phone and played back what had just happened. Taking the phone Alex watched and then looked at me. “What’s the problem?” He asked.

“I look like a mess and I’m talking to myself.” I cried.

Alex looked confused. “So?”

“I can’t have people videoing me looking like this!” I began shaking my head. “Now I’m going to have to get dressed up and watch what I say every time I walk out the front door!”

Alex patted me on the shoulder. “It’s only going to be Dad and I who see it.” He reminded me as he handed me back my phone. “We already know that you talk to yourself and what you look like in your pajamas.”

I looked back at the screen, a picture of me in my robe frozen in time. “Yeah, but now I know what I look like and I’m not happy.” I sighed. “Not happy at all.”

STILL LOCAL SUMMER

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday with the temperatures in the high 70’s. I was out on our back porch in my rocking chair, reading a book.

My son Alex popped his head out the door. “Dad and I wanted to go to the boardwalk for an early dinner. Does that sound good to you?”

I snapped my book closed and got up. “Not having to cook dinner and a walk on the boardwalk? Yeah! I’m in!”

Driving down the road, and not a cloud in the sky, I couldn’t help but smile. “I love when we’re able to squeeze just one more boardwalk day in before Fall really sets in!”

It took us a few minutes to find a spot to park.

“I guess everyone decided today was a good beach day!” I parked the car and got out.

Grabbing a sweatshirt before locking the car I was ready to walk the few blocks to get to the beach

“Are you really bringing a sweatshirt?” My husband Steven asked. “It’s in the 70’s.”

I draped it over my shoulders. “You never know until you get to the water. It might be a bit chilly.”

Alex looked over at me. “Can you unlock the car? Maybe I should bring mine, too.”

Once he had his I looked over at Steven. “Do you want to bring yours?”

“Nope.” He shook his head. “It’s beautiful out.”

We walked the few block and were finally walking the boards. Alex and I both slipped on our sweatshirts. I looked over at Steven. “Are you sorry you didn’t bring yours now?”

Steven looked determined. “Not at all. It’s beautiful out.”

We walked to our favorite restaurant and ordered some slices. “I’m going to get us a table outside while you wait for the pizza.”

I found a beautiful spot in the shade where we had clear sight to the ocean. I watched the seagulls overhead hoping to score some scraps of food. “Pickings are getting slim now that everyone’s off the beach, right guys?” I said to them.

Alex and Steven came out with the trays of food.

Steven and Alex set their trays down.

“It’s so nice out!” I cried. “I just love this time of year when it’s only the locals here.”

Steven and Alex set the trays down. I was just about to reach for my plate when Steven looked over at another table. “Can we sit in the sun instead of here?”

I looked up at Steven who was still standing. “You never want to sit in the sun.”

“Well, I want to start today.”

I picked up my plate and walked over to the new spot Steven had picked out. “You’re never going to admit that you’re sorry you didn’t bring your sweatshirt, are you?” I laughed as I sat down.

“Nope.” Steven said as he sat down himself. “It’s a beautiful day without the sweatshirt.”

“As long as we stay in the sun, right?” I passed him his water bottle.

“Exactly.” He took off the cap and took a sip of his water.

“Well, even in the sun I’m glad I’m wearing this.” I touched the sleeve on my sweatshirt and looked over at Alex. “What about you?”

Alex was looking up at all the seagulls circling the patio. “What do you think the odds are if I left my slice to go wash my hands that one of them would swoop down and grab it?”

“I’ll guard your plate.” I pulled his plate closer to me as Alex got up to walk back into the restaurant. “By the way. Nice subject change.” I called after him laughing.

He never turned around but lifted his arm up in a wave.

I looked over at Steven. “You know he’s really gifted with that.”

Steven started to laugh. “Well, we certainly have given him a lot of chances to practice.”

ARE YOU SICK?

I’d slept on the couch, so that I could sleep sitting up, and not bother my husband Steven with my constant blowing of my nose.

I watched as dawn broke and my alarm went off telling me it was time to get ready for work.

“Oh, man.” I sighed as I pushed the blanket off of me, swung my legs off the couch and reached for the glass of water on the coffee table.

Moments later my son Alex came out into the living room. He scanned the room taking in the tissue box and bottle of hand sanitizer that were on the coffee table.

“Did you sleep out here last night?” He asked.

I stood up to stretch. “Yeah. I didn’t want to bother your Dad. I think my allergies are kicking up.”

Alex looked suspicious. “Are you sure you’re not sick?” He took a step back as I passed him to go into the kitchen.

“I’m fine.” I said as I felt my chest tighten and tried to avoid the coughing attack that was about to start.

“You don’t look fine.” He leaned against the doorway of the kitchen watching me put the kettle on for my tea.

I turned my head and coughed into the crock of my arm. “I’m totally fine.” I said as I got my tea cup out and set it next to the kettle. “Nothing a hot shower won’t fix.”

My husband Steven came into the kitchen. “You never came to bed?” He asked as he went to make his coffee.

“I must have fallen asleep on the couch.” I lied knowing full well that I’d planned on sleeping there.

“She’s sick.” Alex said from the doorway not wanting to come into the kitchen.

“I’m fine!” I said but the crack in my voice said differently.

“Are you staying home from school?” Steven asked as he passed me to get water to put in the coffee maker.

“Why would I stay home?”

“Because you’re sick!” Steven and Alex said in unison.

“Okay, maybe I have a little cold.” I admitted. “But I work in a school. The school year just started. Everyone’s sick.”

“Everyone?” Alex asked stepping back even further. “What’s going around now?”

I shook my head. Neither of them had any idea what bugs went around in my school. I sure wasn’t about to start telling them now because I’m pretty sure they’d have me sleeping in the garage if I did.

“Fall allergies are going around.” I said as my kettle clicked off and I began to pour the water into my cup.

Steven leaned against the counter and looked over at me. “You look and sound like more than just allergies.”

I could feel my nose start to run and I hurried over to the tissue box.

Alex and Steven stood there shaking their heads as I blew my nose.

“Why don’t you just call in sick?” Alex asked.

“Because…” I really couldn’t think of a reason.

I could feel my eyes start to water. “Okay, fine.” I sighed as I wiped my eyes with the back of my sleeve. “You win. I’ll call in.”

“I think everyone you work with is going to feel like the true winners.” Steven walked by me holding his coffee cup. “With you not making them all sick.”

I looked over at Alex who was still standing several feet away from me.

“I’ll go get the Lysol and start spraying everything I’ve touched.” I left the kitchen and headed for the linen closet in the hallway.

“I appreciate that!” Alex called to me from the kitchen. “How about you start in here so I can make my coffee?”

ASBESTOS HANDS

My son Alex and I were standing side by side at the stove cooking dinner. I was stirring a pot of sauce while Alex was waiting for the pasta water to come to a boil. When it finally did he started to pour the pasta in from it’s box when one of ziti noodles missed the pot and fell next to the flame on the stove.

“It’s okay, I’ll get it.” Alex said as he went to the drawer and got out a pair of tongs. Reaching under the pot he used the tongs to get the piece of ziti before it caught on fire. As he pulled it out I put my hand out for him to drop it in the palm of my hand.

“Are you kidding?” He said as he went over to the trash can. “It’s too hot for you to handle.”

I shook my head. “It wouldn’t be too hot for me.” I took a spoon out of the drawer and took a quick taste of the sauce before reaching in the spice cabinet for the oregano. “You know I have asbestos hands.” I gave a few quick shakes of oregano before stirring it again.

Alex opened the tongs and dropped the ziti in the trash before tossing the tongs in the sink.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.” He came back to the stove to give his pasta a stir. “I don’t know how many times I’ve used the sink right after you’ve used the hot water.” He began shaking his head. “It’s ridiculous how hot you have it!”

“Hey, if you’re washing pots and pans and you want to get them really clean you have to use hot water.” I reasoned.

He went to the drawer to get the colander out. “Have your hands always been able to take that kind of heat?”

I thought about it for a minute. “I don’t think so.” I went to the refrigerator to get everything I needed to make a salad. Putting it all on the counter I got out the cutting board. “I think I’ve built up a tolerance over time.” I pulled out a knife and began cutting up the vegetables. “I guess you could call it one of my super powers!” I laughed.

Alex turned off the stove and took his pasta over to the sink with the colander. “That’s a super power?”

“One of many.” I assured him as I looked over at him. “What do you consider one of your super powers?”

“I’m not sure I’d call it a super power.” He said as he left the pasta to drain and went back to the stove to give the sauce a stir.

“Oh, come on now.” I said as I placed the salad in a bowl. “Don’t be modest.”

“Well, I guess the common sense of knowing when I shouldn’t be putting my hands in something that’s too hot for most other humans could be it.”

I looked over at him and gave him the stink eye. “So, you’re telling me you think I should be using warm water to wash the pots and pans from now on?”

“Absolutely not!” He came over to me and patted me on my shoulder. “I totally appreciate your asbestos hands!”

“So what exactly are you trying to say?” I went to the stove to turn the burners off.

“Is dinner ready?” He asked.

“Yup.” I said as I poured the pasta in with the sauce.

“Okay. I’ll go tell Dad dinner’s ready.” He headed out of the kitchen.

“You’re pretty gifted at changing the subject!” I called after him.

“It’s my super power!” He called back.

LATE NIGHT SHOPPER

It was late in the evening and I was sitting on the couch watching a rerun on television when a commercial came on.

“You know what I just remembered we could use?” I said to myself as I picked up my phone that was laying next to me. I opened my Amazon account and began typing in the search bar.

I typed in “bath towels” and hit the search icon. Within seconds I had dozens of choices popping up on my screen. I began scrolling through and finally found the ones I liked. I had the choice of putting them in the cart or hitting the buy now button. I hit the buy now.

Feeling like I’d accomplished a major shopping trip without leaving the couch I decided to continue.

“I could use some new fall decorations for the porch.” I said to myself as I typed away. There were so many choices that popped up it was overwhelming.

By now the commercial had finished and my program was back on. I glanced up at the television and back to my phone.

“It’s a rerun.” I said as I shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve got more shopping to do.”

After purchasing several other items I’d been needing I put my phone down and was reaching for the remote when my husband Steven came into the room holding up his phone.

“Are you kidding me!” He cried. “Do we really need a half dozen glass food storage containers?”

“Absolutely! I’m trying to get away from the plastic containers because they can release chemicals into the food.” I grabbed the remote and muted the television. “How do you know I just ordered those?” I was confused. “What are you? A mind reader?”

“You know you’re on my Amazon Prime account, right?”

“Well, actually it’s our account.” I corrected him.

“Sure.” He began shaking his head. “But the account is in my name.”

“Okay…and?”

“Every time you order something I get an e-mail from Amazon thanking me for the purchase!”

“Oh…” I gave him a scared smile. “I didn’t know that.” Then I thought about it and was confused again. “But I order stuff all the time and you’ve never said anything.”

“You order one or two things at a time.” He held the phone up again. “I’ve got over a dozen e-mails tonight of things you purchased!”

“It’s all stuff we’ve been needing.” I reasoned. “I just kept forgetting to order it.” I shrugged my shoulders. “But everything popped into my head tonight so I took care of it.”

Steven sighed again.

“Hey, I can’t help it if Amazon’s been snitching on me!” I looked over at Steven and raised my eyebrows. “If I knew they were e-mailing you every time I bought something I would have gotten my own account!”

Steven shook his head again. “We don’t need to pay for two prime accounts.”

“Okay, so how are we going to fix this?”

“I guess if you say we needed everything I’m okay with it.” He put his phone back in his pocket.

“That sounds fair.” I picked up the remote again but before I unmuted the television I looked back at him and smiled. “Just a quick warning…Christmas shopping’s right around the corner!”

NATURE IS BEAUTIFUL…SOMETIMES

I was headed to our basement, to toss a load of towels in the washing machine when I noticed a small light green grasshopper had landed on one of the panes of glass on our back door. It’s little legs were glued to the glass as it looked out towards our back yard.

“Well, aren’t you the cutest little guy.” I said as I got closer. That’s when I noticed the top of its thorax was pulsing. “Hey Alex!” I called to my son. “You’re not going to believe this but I think I’m looking at a grasshopper’s heart beating!”

“What?” Alex sounded confused as he came over to where I was standing. “What are you talking about?”

“Look!” I pointed to the grasshoppers belly. We both watched as the pulse started at the top of his thorax and made it’s way down to the bottom.

“It’s the entire length of his body.” Alex said. “It can’t be his heartbeat.”

I dropped the load of towels on the floor and reached in my back pocket to get my phone. “I think you might be right. But what could it be doing?” I went to my Google app and began typing.

I stopped typing for a second and looked up to see that the grasshopper had noticed us. He’d turned his head to look at us as one of his antenna brushed against the glass. “Don’t move little guy, we’re in the middle of a science lesson here!”

I kept typing until finally I got my answer. “That’s his air sacs that are moving!” I cried as I looked over at Alex. “We’re watching him breath!” I shook my head in disbelief. “Can you believe it?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “That seems reasonable.” He got up closer to the glass. “It is pretty interesting, though.”

The grasshopper turned his head back to face the yard.

I put the phone back in my back pocket and scooped up the load of towels I’d dropped on the floor. “I never realized how intricate their little bodies were.” I took one last look at the grasshopper. “Enjoy the rest of your summer!” I whispered to him before I headed down the stairs to start the laundry.

“Now that you see how intricate an insect is, you can understand why I never kill a spider when it’s in the house.” Alex called down to me.

I shuttered and stopped on the steps. Turning around I looked up at him. “Spiders are a completely different story.” I corrected him.

Alex laughed. “Why?” He pointed to the grasshopper. “Spiders bodies are just as intricate as grasshoppers.”

“But grasshoppers are cute.” I shuttered again. “Spiders are just icky!”

Alex laughed harder. “Is that the actual scientific term?”

“Yes.” I said as I continued down the stairs. “Anything that has the name spider attached to it is icky.”

“What else has a spider name attached to it?” Alex asked as he followed me down the stairs.

I stopped at the laundry room and tossed the towels on the floor before turning around. “Jiminy Cricket is adorable, right?”

Alex looked confused. “Jiminy Cricket is a cartoon.”

I held up my hand. “Just hear me out.” I reached in my back pocket for my phone and began typing. When the photo I wanted came up I turned it around for him to see. “But spider crickets are more than icky. They’re downright creepy.”

Alex eyebrows went up. “That is pretty creepy looking.” He agreed.

I slipped the phone back in my pocket, nodding my head for emphasis. “So that’s the difference between all other insects and anything to do with spiders.”

Alex shook his head as he stood in the doorway while I loaded the washing machine. “Spiders still deserve to live.”

“I didn’t say they didn’t.” I reached for the laundry soap on the shelf above the washing machine. “I’m just saying when a spider needs to be rescued…” I looked over at him and smiled. “I’m calling you.”