Big brother to the rescue

The kids were on the back porch playing this evening before their bath, when Garrett started screaming at the top of his lungs. It was one of those scary screams that you only hear a handful of times and pray that you never hear again, because it means something's seriously wrong. Soon after G started screaming, Scout started crying, too. I was out there before I realized I'd moved, but was able to make out a few words G was screaming in the process - something about Scout putting something black in her mouth. I did the quick finger sweep, thinking I might find a stinging or biting insect with the way she was crying, but to my surprise, out came half a roly poly. Ryan immediately figured out that Garrett had seen Scout eat the bug, freaked out and scared her with his crying. It took quite a while to calm them down, and it was clear that G was really frightened.

On the way up to the bath with a much calmer Garrett in my arms, I asked him what he was concerned about. He said, "I thought if she put the roly poly in her mouth, she would chew it and it wouldn't be alive. Well, it wasn't alive anyway.", meaning it was dead to begin with. I asked, "So, were you worried about the bug or Scout?" In a sweet and concerned voice he answered, "Scout. I thought if the roly poly went into her tummy, she would get sick and have to go to the hospital."

What a sweet boy! Though it was a major overreaction, we told him how proud we were of him for being such a good and protective big brother. Who knows? Maybe Scout will never put another bug in her mouth, though she may grow up with an unhealthy fear of roly polies.