Tag Archives: Anxiety

Ah, Nature!

Wildlife encounters for the week:

  • Had to slam on my breaks to allow a decent sized lizard to cross the road. Apparently the signs warning of such things aren’t kidding.
  • Found Chick-fil-a waffle fry-sized roach in kitchen sink first thing in the morning. Allowed husband to deal with it.
  • Waited a good 45 seconds for 4 ducks to follow each other, single file, across the main road heading toward the grocery store.
  • Saw a large flying something come down from upstairs into the living room. Husband was in shower and unable to assist. Proceeded to hide in closed bedroom. Did not hear from husband for 7+ minutes after he set out to investigate large flying something. Called out, fearing the worst. Husband replied that large flying something was dead and seemed to not want to explain further for fear of losing his wife to the next American Airlines flight to Miami. Lessons learned: 1) Giant roaches can fly and are even more terrifying than originally perceived. 2) Husband will understand if I need to return to Raleigh sooner than he does.
  • Near simultaneous salamander scares. Entered master bathroom which, admittedly, is Sammy the Salamander’s territory. Frightened Sammy, who fell off the ceiling, landing directly in the trash can. Would have been hilarious, but I was too busy screaming due to previous scary encounters with cucarachas. Upon hearing my scream, husband ran upstairs to see what he needed to kill. Upon arrival, admitted that he too had just been startled by another Sammy the Salamander (yes, they are all named Sammy) who ran up the wall behind his desk as he sat down at his computer.
  • Rocco is still a hilarious bulldog who does not seem to have mastered the art of breathing properly. He did, however, have a bath and looks years younger. During our most recent encounter with him, he claimed Eric as his own, as his owner Itzick is out of town and Eric has been known to scratch his rear for him (Rocco’s rear, not Eric’s).

The time I wished I had married an exterminator.

We had a little bit of drama on Wednesday night. We got back from the beach around 7, as usual, after Eric’s nightly kiting session. Eric jumped into the shower. When I went upstairs to our bedroom a moment later, I saw a giant creature crawling around near Eric’s suitcase. It seriously looked like a mouse, but it was dark black and flatter. I screamed and ran to the bathroom to ask Eric to do something about it. He was, well, mid-shower and not exactly in a position to take care of the situation, so he asked me to breathe and see if I could keep an eye on it. I put on some shoes – heaven forbid this thing should crawl on my feet – and peered around the bedroom door. The thing jumped out at me – a GIANT cockroach. I screamed my best horror movie scream, not on purpose, but just because this thing was horrifying. It was at least 3-4 inches long and built like a freaking tank. It had to be an inch tall. I kept screaming, then started crying hysterically and shaking.

Eric got out of the shower and search the whole room for the thing, but never found it. That’s the worst part. I had no idea where it was going to come from next, but I was pretty sure that it would crawl around on me in bed that night.

I kept crying and shaking while I showered, while I got dressed, and while Eric calmly searched the room again and ushered me towards the door so we could go to dinner, as planned.

Y’all…I DO NOT do roaches. And I have never in my life seen one this size. We have lizards around the house to take care of the mosquitos, but this thing was 4 times the thickness of any of our lizards. All I could think about was how I wasn’t going to be able to sleep in our house that night, how we were going to have to leave Panamá and go back to my fully enclosed and insulated house, and how horrible I would feel asking Eric to go back home with me when I’m supposed to be supporting his awesome kiting hobby.

Luckily, my husband knows me. He suggested an anxiety pill and a glass of wine at dinner. I stopped crying by the time I got to the restaurant, thought I didn’t want to stop. We had a really nice dinner at the small hotel across the street that is owned by a lovely French couple – Casa Amarilla.

On the way home, Eric even offered to sleep in the car with me that night if that would make me feel safer. We ended up being fine back in our house, but y’all, that can’t happen again. It was awful. It’s official, I’m not supposed to live in Savannah or Florida or any place where the bugs are wider than my shoes. I’ve decided to embrace it. I’m an inside girl, unless wildlife can be kept at bay. I like outside, but I like the sun and trees and flowers and lakes and beaches part, not the creepy-crawlers.

I’m just really glad I hung up the phone with Laine, my 7 year old niece, before I freaked out. My sister Jennifer is considering bringing her down for a visit in March, and I don’t think my reaction would’ve gone over well with her.

On another weird wildlife note, our car got attacked by a pack of wild dogs today. We were on the way to town for a grocery store run, when two dogs appeared on the road ahead of us. Eric slowed down. Three more dogs appeared, barking and running towards our car. They immediately reminded me of hyenas and the Lion King. Eric slowly moved the car forward, but we heard a few bonks and bumps and both of us thought he might have run over one of them. Thank goodness all of them were safe…it had been them running into us rather than the other way around. What in the world?! So bizarre. Panamá always has a new surprise for us.

Tonight we’re expecting our good friends Mono (the head of my capoeira group), Lourdes (his wife), and their daughters Cari and baby Sereia, who is only 2 months old!

Two days after they leave, Eric’s cousin David arrives. The day after David leaves, we pick up our friend Sarah Jessica at the airport! It’s going to be an exciting few weeks!

House Arrest

Friday Night:

I might as well write another post tonight, seeing as how we are trapped in our house for the foreseeable future. There is a wild Panamanian beast outside, and Eric has already fallen victim to her rage. Enough blood has been shed for one night. We have met Satan, and her name is Cat.

Sorry the pic is blurry. I was rushing to shut the door so she didn’t attack me too. Can’t you see the hate in her beady little eyes?

Yep, it’s not all sunshine and paradise down here. We have real problems. Like an outdoor cat. This girl’s got claws, and tonight, she dug them into Eric’s leg. One of the two that he needs for kiteboarding. She broke the skin, y’all. Eric had to use (gulp!) rubbing alcohol to clean it! And you know that stuff stings!

Had I known she was going to do that, I would’ve taken advantage of this situation earlier today:

Anyway, I had to brave the wrath of this little jerk in order to get our laundry done. The problem is that her food is kept in the laundry room, and I kept shooing her out so she wouldn’t get locked in when I left. She wasn’t happy with that arrangement. But after Eric’s little encounter with her, I thought she might be locked in, so I armored my legs with a towel and talked the poor dog into coming with me. Long story short: the cat wasn’t there. Pretty anticlimactic.

By the way, the dog’s name is Anigh. I have no idea how to spell it because a long “I” sound isn’t one you regularly hear in Spanish, but if i use a “Y,” it just ends up looking like Any. It’s pronounced Ah-nigh (as in “the time is nigh”).

The cat is Ron, pronounced with a rolled “r” and, well, a spanish “o” sound. Ron is also spanish for rum. Oddly, she is not much fun when you mix her with orange juice.

Saturday morning update:

We managed to leave the house this morning, but Ron has turned passive aggressive. She took Eric’s chair when he refused to pet her.

***Also, I’ve been made aware that my photos turn sideways when viewed on an iPhone. It’s normal on an Android or on a Mac or PC. No idea why it’s happening or how to change it, so you might just have to turn your heads for now. Sorry!