The Dutch love spiders (hence...I am not Dutch)

Today I was walking to the school with my three year old to pick up the other three kids for lunch. As I walked I looked down at my feet, a habit I developed while in High School that I sometimes still fall into. It's also useful when walking hand-in-hand with a toddler. Then I can see him. We walked our daily route (the same route we walk 6 times a day) when suddenly I felt something snag in my hair. Instinctively, I ducked quickly and rain my hand over the top of my head. I also did a sort of duck waddle to a safe distance away and glanced back. There, hanging over the alley way, was the remnant of a spider web. Happily, there was a spider in the center of that web (I say happily in all seriousness because it meant he wasn't on me!). He was fat and ugly. I wiped my hand over my hair again, made a comment of relief and disgust at the same time, and we continued on physically and, more-or-less, emotionaly undisturbed (I can't say as much for the spider).

Now, I wish I liked spiders as much as the Dutch do. I remember when I arrived at my first Dutch house. I was visiting friends in Gorinchem (if you're American...please don't try to pronounce that). When we walked up to the front door carrying my baggage I was dismayed to see little spiders hanging out all over...everything. By the end of my two week visit, these spiders had quadrupled in size! I remember going to kill one and the mother of my friends saved its life. I was dismayed. How on earth can anyone save such an ugly little beast??

Having lived here for almost 9 months (!!) I can easily understand two things now. 1.) I understand why the Dutch allow the spiders to live. 2.) I understand how the spiders manage to get so FAT and UGLY! The answer is simple, and the same. Mosquitos. Due to the mosquitos even I have quit killing the spiders (you can read about my room mate Fran, the spider, in a previous post). Israel was a land of milk and honey. Holland is a land of mosquitos and spiders.

Today is September 20th. In Walmart you'd be able to find the Holloween decorations flowing abundantly from too many shelves and isles. The Dutch, as far as I know, don't celebrate this horendous holiday. However, if they did they wouldn't have to do much decorating for it, like most Americans do. The overflow of spiders' webs are already decoratively glistening from every tree and bush. I will say, though, that these webs are very intruiging and beautiful after a soft rain. I've even tried to remember to bring a camera a couple of times so that I could try to get a good picture (forgot...oops). They also make a great biology lesson. It's very easy to find a spider wrapping a fly in its delicate, yet powerful, threads. I've watched it once or twice, but eventually quit.

And so, the Dutch like spiders. Our four kids are only afraid of spiders because they've seen me screech at them a couple of times. That's too bad because they have to live with the ugly, fat, 8-legged beasts for MUCH longer than I have to. Poor kids. Hee hee.