Boys Will Be Boys ... and Mommies Will Be Horrified

Today was a very nice day ... the high was 80 degrees, so after Christian's nap, we headed out to the park. But Christian got bored and wanted to walk up the street to "Christian's Mountain." It is a home site at the foot of the mountain where excavation once started, but was abandoned. There are plenty of dirt and rock piles - a dream come try for a little three year old boy.

I was nervous about what might be hiding under all the rocks he was picking up to throw ... spiders, snakes, scorpions. You never know what is lurking in the Arizona desert. One funky-looking spider made an appearance, but that was it.

Ever curious, Christian was picking up everything of interest ... rocks, sticks, dirt. I was walking a few feet ahead of him, and heard him say, "Look, a big stick!" I turned around to see him holding what appeared to be some tubing from the landscaping drip-line. UNTIL I SAW IT MOVE!

Christian had picked up a LIVE SNAKE by its tail and was holding it up high. I was horrified!!! I yelled at him to drop it, which he did ... and rushed over to pick him up. The snake went about its business.

Our saving grace was that it wasn't a rattlesnake - thankfully, those guys make their presence known immediately. I don't know what kind of snake it was - not a clue. But I thank God it wasn't aggressive.

My panicked tone gave Christian quite a scare, which I felt badly about. But, it is a good thing because he needs to be aware that picking up a snake is dangerous. So while we were still in the moment, but the snake was gone, I quietly but very firmly told him that snakes are dangerous.