Lazy mornings.  I really enjoy the lazy mornings of summer.  I had them for two whole weeks (until Summer rec. started today).  During one of those lazy mornings, this is what happened:

As I rolled over in bed, I felt a presence.  I open my eyes, and there’s Becca…big ol’ blues staring right at me.  It was 8:15 – past any “respectful” waking time, I guess.  So, I pulled myself up out of bed and headed downstairs with said child.  Before making the coffee, I decided that I needed “just five more minutes” before I was ready to greet the day.  As I laid down on the couch, Becca (and Rex) crawled up next to me.  Becca was happily petting Rex.  Then Chloe, with her anti-gravity morning hair, came tromping down the stairs.  I guess there was no more “five more minutes.”  As Becca continued to pet Rex, she stopped and said, “Mom, there’s a bump on Rex’s neck.”

A bump on Rex’s neck could mean just about anything.  He’s had gum, broken pieces of suckers, liquid ‘gooey’ candy from a tube and other oddities stuck in his fur.  So, with one eye open (and the other about half open), and no caffeine in my body to speak of, I check out Rex’s neck.  There sure was something sticking up.  I thought it was his skin.  I gave it a little tug, and something about the size of an old fashioned watermelon seed was between my fingers.  I hold it up to my face, and then I see it.  The head and the legs.  (Ewww, I’m getting itchy just thinking about it now).  It was a damn tick!  Ugh!  I take it into the kitchen and try to squish it in a paper towel.  No go.  This thing was a fighter.  A big, fat, ugly, full-o-blood fighter.  I had to get tough.  I took it outside and squished the paper towel under the leg of our patio chair.

I had to make sure it was dead, right?  I didn’t want to (OK, maybe I DID want to…just a little).  Ewwwwwwwwwww!  It was like…like…blood jelly.  Completely gross.  I made my coffee and  hoped it would help the heebie jeebies go away.  Then, of course, I had to look up ticks on the internet.  Just because.  I’m going to share a picture with you.  Again, just because.

Photo compliments of University of Nebraska

And that’s how I started off one day of summer vacation.  What followed in the next few days was a big ol’ dose of Frontline on the dog, and some crazy chemical on the lawn.  But here’s a preview for my next post:  the tick was NOT the grossest thing that has happened so far this summer.  Have you ever heard of GWAR?  I’ll fill you in next time!