So, like the book series by Stieg Larsson (an author I don’t enjoy, but that’s not the point here), the hornet is the third in a series of progressively more disturbing plot twists.
Or, as we now call it, Sam’s life.
To be clear, the title is the only similarity between the dark novel series and Sam’s adventures. Actually, two similarities, the hornet title and trying to solve the mystery of why Sam is so accident-prone.
Because yesterday, in his series of progressively more disturbing insect stings, a hornet stung him.
Yes, for those of you keeping track at home, that’s two stings in the span of THREE DAYS.
The first sting, and (arguably) most benign one, was this summer at a nice park in our old neighborhood. After playing for hours on a slide structure, an angry bee suddenly came out and stung Sam. Missed the girls, Nate, and me, but zeroed in on poor, sweet Sam.
Then, there were the swarms of wasps this weekend.
Then yesterday, the kids and I did homework on the patio while Nate played on our playset. After about an hour, Sam and Elisabeth joined him. After about another hour, Sam started to scream and ran to the house, “ANOTHER WASP! STUNG ME!”
Thankfully M had just gotten home and could help me run interference with Catie co-parenting, Elisabeth watching in horror at her twin enduring another painful drama, and Nate wanting to keep playing on the playset. The ONE HE HAD PLAYED ON FOR AN HOUR. How did the hornets not sting him?
The only good news about being stung three times (by progressively more venomous insects) is that M and I dealt with it better each time. Yes, it will swell up. Yes, Sam will scream when we ice it. Yes, M&Ms seem to help the whole ordeal go more smoothly.
Speaking of going smoothly (or not) M attacked the hornets’ nest and killed about 75 hornets that were hiding in the rafters of the playset. Seeing all those dead hornets made me so thankful Sam had one little sting, when those mean, little insects could have been all over Nate. Or so many more of them could have attacked him and Elisabeth.
So, today we’re thankful for that little bit of fortune.
AND we’re keeping Sam away from the habitats of anything potentially venomous.
Because like the Stieg Larsson novels, this saga doesn’t need a fourth story.
