The Ant Farm

When my oldest was 3 1/2 yrs old, he was, to put it mildly - terrified of bugs. He was the anxious sort, and no amount of reasoning would change his mind. One day, he came home from preschool to tell me that he had seen small black ants (they were Argentine ants - totally harmless). The next day he told me that he touched one, and he wasn't afraid. It was a proud moment for us both, and like any mom wanting to help their child get past a fear, I praised him for being so courageous. Insert Rookie Mom Mistake here.

My youngest was 6 months old at the time, and had medical issues which required a lot of our time and energy. I was also working outside the home full time, so there wasn't much time for relaxation or myself. To get through this time period, I had a nightly ritual of taking a nice hot bath - all by myself. I could clear my head, process my day, and just let my mind go blank.

Of course, having to adjust to a new baby in the house is always hard on their sibling. My oldest was smart though, and he figured out that he could get my undivided attention if he waited for me to get in to the tub. I felt guilty about working at the time, and even more guilty that he wasn't getting near the attention he had been, so I didn't make him go back to bed when he came to visit me. It ended up being a great time for he and I to catch up with each other and spend some time just the two of us. It also gave him the opportunity to share parts of his day that we otherwise did not hear about.

On one such occasion, not too long after he had touched the ant, he informed me that he had made an ant farm. I asked him to tell me more and he went on to explain that he and a few other kids had poured a little bit of water out for the ants to drink. Then they moved dirt around for them, and on and on he went with his story. Sometimes, when he would continue on, I would lose focus of what he was saying ten minutes into his monologue. Then he said this
Him "We collected the ants and made an ant farm".
Me "Mm-hmm." pause "Wait, in your classroom?"
Him "No. In a cup"
Me "Oh. Okay. Did you bring the cup in to your class and then fill up your ant farm?"
Him "No, we made the ant farm in the cup. The teacher said we had to leave the cups outside."
Me "Oh. So did you let them go at the end of the day?"
Him "No, they're still in the cup"
Me "Oh. Okay. At school?"
Him "No. I brought them home in Daddy's car"
Me (WHAT!?!?!?!?) "What do you mean, buddy?"
Him "I put the ants in the cup, then I gave them dirt so they could build a home."
Me (panic level rising) "Is the cup still in Daddy's car?"
Him "No"
Me (oh thank god!)
Him "It's downstairs" he tells me this proudly
Me "What do you mean it's downstairs?"
Him "I brought it in and put it in the kitchen."
Me "Honey, were there still ants in the cup?" (insert sinking feeling here)
He proudly tells me "Yeah, but don't worry. They can't escape. I put rocks on them to hold them down"
Me (oh no! oh no! oh no! oh no!) it's amazing how fast you can get out of a tub when you realize your 3 yr old brought ants into your house

Suffice it to say, the ants had all escaped by this time. Jack was crushed that his new buddies had gone away. I was crushed that my ant free house no longer existed.

The ants moved into my kitchen and set up a nice little home though. Every spring they come out to visit, and we get to remember the time that Jack brought home the ant farm.