to fully understand this story, i'll give you some background history: it starts in high school.
junior or senior year, i started noticing a odd rash on my hands- little bumps, like bites, maybe, or a weird allergic reaction to i had no idea what. the bumps wouldn't last long, but they never fully went away; they'd disappear only to be replaced in new places, changing patterns every day. i couldn't figure it out.
at the same time, i'd notice little bugs- tiny, flat, and brown- crawling on my bed. not a lot, just a few every day or every couple of days. i think i showed them to my mom one time, but neither of us recognized them for what they were.
then, it happened. i woke up in the middle of the night. something was crawling on me. i turned on the light and stifled a scream. the bugs were EVERYWHERE. i slept in the hall that night.
until this point, i believed bed bugs to be a mythical creature than could be warded off with a shoe.
boy was i wrong.
i finally convinced my parents something terrible was happening. (since bed bugs only come out at night, this took a few days to prove.) one new mattress and an exterminator later, the bugs were finally gone.
fast forward to a few years ago: my parents' house was invaded by a plague of stink bugs. because i wasn't home at the time, i thought it was really funny. now, as they linger, i find them extremely annoying.
saturday, i took a quick trip back home. as i was turning back my covers that night, i realized that my bed was once again overrun- by stink bugs. i lost it: i screamed bloody murder. at which point i had to explain to my parents that i was okay but there was "an unholy number" of stink bugs on my bed. and on my window shade. i had a mild panic attack when two fell out of the blinds. one by one, two by two, i flushed them down the toilet. it's the only way to get rid of them. and the whole time, i was re-living that night i woke up to find myself and my bed CRAWLING. i thought i was going to faint.
thankfully, the trip was bookended by much pleasanter experiences. i loved being with hsBFF and her new baby. then, advent in rivermont and decorating the tree with hot chocolate and christmas carols. as i said before, i always need a little christmas, and i can't wait to be home again for the real thing.
(hopefully, with no more bugs.)
