How slugs are affecting my life

Slug. What a disgusting word*, and what a disgusting creature -- especially when I find one in my house. Or, even worse, 2 at one time on the floor. According to the exterminator we called, everyone will be having problems with slugs "for at least another 2 weeks -- there's not much you can do about them." (This was said over a week ago, so the season's almost over - yay.) He was wrong though -- the homemade beer traps outside do actually work -- we've killed hundreds of them so far.

But still we find an occasional one inside! I can't handle it. We had that first slug-sighting in the house 11 nights ago, so every night since then I've been totally creeped out. Unfortunately, Pete has been gone for 7 of those nights, so I've had to cope on my own. It's horrible: each evening as the sun starts to set, I find myself frantically preparing to be invaded, getting more and more worked up as the moments go by and darkness begins to settle in. It's like I'm afraid a werewolf is going to show up or something! I've never in my life dreaded nighttime so much before. And I've never been so upset about rain, either.

I don't like living this way, so tonight I decided to try to change my outlook. If I serve a God who has a big overarching theme of redemption, then there must be some ways I can see Him redeeming even this yucky situation, right? So, I've given it some thought, and here are some good results I've seen come out of this slug season...

• Reminder that I have a wonderful community around me: When I brought this up at our last Life group meeting at our house, I told them I didn't know what I would do if I saw a slug when Pete wasn't home because I certainly would not be able to kill it, but I would also feel foolish going to get a neighbor to get it for me. Several of the men in the Life group immediately said I could call them and they would drive the several miles from their home to ours to get any indoor slugs!
• Time for Strider to shine: While Pete's been out, Strider has had to be my man of the house, walking into rooms ahead of me, and scoping out if there are any invaders. He's also had to deal with the outdoor beer traps. And he's risen to the challenge!
• Greater self-awareness: Now I know that I still haven't grown out of the same strategy my 2-year old uses for situations he doesn't like -- denial. Every night I just pack up all my stuff and head upstairs for the evening. I figure if there are slugs somewhere downstairs, it's just much better if I don't see them. So as I type this, I am upstairs in my room, with the child-gate across the top of the stairs locked. I know this won't really keep anything out, but it works for me anyway!
• Greater appreciation for Hulu.com: Since I can't stay downstairs to watch tv in the evening, I have taken our laptop upstairs and become a big fan of Hulu. My new favorite show: "Trust Me." If I can't watch old episodes of "Ed" this is the next-best thing. And I might even be able to use some clips in my marketing class!
• Better health?: I can't snack as much at night when I'm stuck upstairs, and when I'm bored watching Hulu, I can exercise... a little anyway.
• More time for blogging stupid stuff. Case in point.

So, I guess there are a few ways that even this Slug-fest is being redeemed in my life! I'll keep telling myself this while I'm stuck behind the barricades in my room every night...


*I think slugs are named onomatopoetically, but my brother tells me I'm wrong. They don't sound sluggish... but the name sure suits how they make me feel!