It all started, Tuesday, the day that we got record high temperatures of 74 degrees (see the above pictures) and were out playing in the backyard. Under the cool leaves he was playing in, Micah found several worms. We looked at them, touched them, and talked about them together. He seemed to think they were pretty cool, and then they wormed their way down into the soil and were gone. We headed inside for dinner, and I didn't think anything more of it.
Well, the next day (Wednesday) it rained all day, so Micah and I excitedly decided to go on a walk in the rain with Ezra. He loves puddle stomping, so why not? I pushed Ezra in the stroller and Micah wanted to ride his tricycle. We head out around the 3/4 mile loop in our neighborhood. Halfway around Micah suddenly notices there are worm crawling all over the sidewalks. I thought he would be intrigued... instead, he was TERRIFIED. It started slowly with him halting and nervously looking around at all the worms and then trying to get around the worms as carefully as possible so he didn't have to get too close. Well, that lasted 5 minutes in which we basically went 20 ft down the sidewalk as I stood in the rain trying to get him to just drive rather than weave back and forth at an inchworm pace. No dice. So I asked if he just wanted to ride on the bench in the stroller so he didn't have to touch the worms. He agreed and got in, which left me to push a double stroller and carry a tricycle in the rain up a hill. I made it to the top of the hill, but my arms were dead and I told Micah he needed to ride the tricycle down the hill to our house because I couldn't carry it anymore. He refused. Wouldn't budge from the stroller and got frantic that I was trying to get him off. "Mama, the worms! No, no, the worms!" In hindsight, I should have just made myself keep trekking. But, I instead insisted he get out, pried him from the stroller, and sat him on his tricycle which only led to more shrieking. He refused to put his feet on the ground; he refused to pedal. I was getting very irritated and tired. I pushed the tricycle in front of the stroller, which since we were going downhill, didn't take much effort.. That worked until we got to the bottom of the hill. At this point I told Micah I was taking the stroller across the street with Ezra and he could come or stay, but I was getting home! He cried hysterically and refused to move so I get Ezra and the stroller to the garage and go back and pick up a hysterical Micah and tricycle and carry them home. By this time Ezra is mad that we are going inside and Micah is so upset and terrified of the worms that I end up carrying two screaming children in the house. At least Matt got a good laugh out of the tale.
Now, it's Thursday and it rained all morning but cleared up in the afternoon so I decided to get the boys out on a walk. I let Micah know we're going to go out on a walk, that there will probably be worms, so he is going to have to ride in the stroller or wagon. I was not about to repeat yesterday. So we go on a pleasant stroller walk and Micah quietly watched the ground for worms but was content because he didn't have to actually touch the ground. Once we got back to the house, Ezra wanted to walk around the driveway and walk around in his little car walker so he's out in the driveway having a ball. I looked in at Micah, and he was standing in the garage looking nervously around at the garage floor. "What's that?" he points and asks looking scared. "It's a pine needle. There are no worms in the garage Micah." At this news he gets his tricycle and wheels it to the edge of the garage and nervously surveys the driveway. "Where are the worms, Mama?" he asks. "I don't know buddy, but there are probably some around. They won't hurt you." We then repeat this conversation several times before I finally say that I have seen a few dead ones but no live ones as I've been walking around with Ezra. I also let him know that Ezra and I are walking out here and we are perfectly fine, so he's going to be ok. He finally , tentatively, starts riding down the driveway, watching where he is going very carefully. He stops occasionally to point and ask nervously, "What's that?" (they were always sticks or dead pine needles, though he did eventually spot a dead worm). Eventually we head in and sit down for dinner. Micah promptly points to a sliver of brown chicken pot pie crust and goes "What's that?!" in his nervous voice. By now I'm torn between laughing or getting really irritated at this ridiculousness about worms. I explain it's just part of the crust, NOT a worm. He then looks nervously at the floor, sees a dead pine needle, jumps, and says "What's that?!" again. You get the idea. This kid is terrified of worms and is seeing them everywhere.
Finally, Friday rolls around and we go on yet another walk after yet more rain. Micah insists on riding his tricycle. I give him a stern lecture about how I am NOT carrying his tricycle and there WILL be worms out. He insists he's going to be fine. So off we go. And he was right, he conquered his fear and was able to ride over the dead worms that were everywhere! He was a little nervous at first, but quickly adopted the following mantra that he repeated the entire walk: "I'm getting through the worms; I'm driving over them. They won't hurt me; they like to eat dirt." It was such a funny walk to hear him repeat that over and over! We played outside again after our walk and he was fine, though he still asks the "What's that?! question whenever he sees something that looks remotely like it could be a worm. Such a funny kid!
And so that is the Saga of the Worms. What an ordeal. BUT, if you didn't catch it in the story, Ezra is now walking laps around the house and up and down the driveway! He is also riding our little indoor tricycle and blue truck around in laps with Micah. He has taken off this week and it is so fun to watch him on the move!