The Snake Incident 6/2/23

So yesterday afternoon I was just minding my own, watching The Light You Carry with Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey on Netflix, when suddenly my youngest child comes barreling into my house via the sliding door. He was upset, literally shaking, and blurted out “a snake just jumped at me and made a noise!” I take a brief split second to look around my house and realize I’m the only grown ass adult home. Damn it. So I ask him if he was bitten. He doesn’t know but he doesn’t think so. OK. So I start looking at his trembling legs and spot a small, little bloody area on the back of his ankle. I was about to black-out, but I again realize I’m the mom and the only adult in the vicinity, so I start envisioning having to suck venom out of my son’s Achilles tendon. But before we headed down that road, I grab a paper towel and dab it (don’t ask me why-it seemed like the appropriate thing to do) and was relieved (cue cognitive dissonance? Or wishful thinking? I’m not sure) to see that it was not (hopefully) an active bleed but a tiny bit dried out. Phew. 

I clarified with him that this literally just happened (I mean-clearly he came running right in) and told him that the blood is dried so it doesn’t appear to be a bite. He bought it. I asked him how he was feeling and in a moment that can only be described as-your kids are the people you raise them to be-he starts questioning me, suspiciously, as to why I’m asking him how he feels…um, yeah. I’m not about to tell him that I’m simply gauging if we need to call 911 (for the both of us, let’s face it)or not-so I just tell him I’m just making sure he’s OK because wow! what a scare that was! But he knows. Again-my kid. We know. No one side-eyes me more than those I have given birth to. 

 Once I realize there are no active snake bite puncture wounds to be found, we hit the google. He told me that he saw white with brown circles. Now listen-I know zero about snakes because I really don’t like snakes. I don’t much care for anything with less than 2 legs or more than 4. But I do know that rattlesnakes are somewhere in the vicinity of where we live, I feel like there are brown circles involved, and I’m trying to keep my shit together. I also remember my dad telling me about copperheads in our yard when I was little… Upon further questioning he says the sound was hissing not a rattling sound. Thank you Jesus. 

 I pull up images of all snakes found in CT. We scroll. He sees the eastern milk snake and says that’s the one! I was speed reading and got to the part where it says “not venomous” and the child and I hugged and breathed out, in pure relief. He was also decompressing because he loves snakes and he told me he wouldn’t have been able to kill it if it was trying to bite him. My little nature-lover. I did ask him a few more times throughout the evening how he was feeling. And every time he’d ask me why. 

 Anyway-Happy Friday!! And be careful out there! I have recently come to realize that snakes are everywhere. 🐍🍹