Finding Ninee » Sharing our parenting and special needs stories with heart and humor.

Surviving the cicada apocalypse and my baby isn’t a baby anymore

While nothing is written on the calendar, I have some plans for this summer.  Here they are, in no particular order.

Survive the cicada apocalypse.  For a girl who is irrationally terrified of all bugs, including the harmless ones that don’t want to eat me, the fact that any day now we’ll be overrun by gigantic, loud, noisy, ugly, creepy-crawly-flying (shudder) bugs who sleep in the ground for 17 years and then surface in horrifying numbers (600 of them to one person) freaks me out.  I’m scared, people.  On the other hand, they’ve been hanging out in the dirt for 17 years, patiently waiting for this brief drunken bug-orgy in the sun.  17 years is a long time to wait for a couple weeks of tree-eating, karaoke, sex and egg-laying.  Maybe I’ll just not leave the house until they’re all dead and it’s time to sweep up their carcasses and have an “I got my backyard back” party.

While my drawing makes cicadas look like cute little butterflies, they are not, in fact, cute.  Not even a little bit.  I’d even go so far as to say they look eveeellll.  Like fruu-eeets of the deveeeel.  (quote from So I Married an Axe Murderer – one of the.best.movies.ever.)  See, look:

Trust somebody other than myself.  This is a big one.  While Tucker does retain school services this summer, there are two fairly long breaks – one in June and another in August.  In addition to the breaks, school hours are shortened.  Which means that if I want to maintain my sanity, continue to blog, retain my part-time job and sleep occasionally, it’s time to trust somebody other than myself to watch Tucker for a few hours each week.  I’m not sure how I’m going to work this out and may have to consider putting him on the bus so that I have more than a couple hours between taking him to school and picking him up (OH MY GOD, how can I put my little baby boy who is only three years old on a bus!?  The worst part is that if something horrifying happened to him, like actually DOES happen in real life and not just in my head, he wouldn’t be able to tell me about it…and that’s a scary, scary, scary thing…).  Any advice with this would be extremely welcome, friends.

Celebrate and mourn.  Four years.  Where, my friends, has the time gone?  My tiny little baby is no longer tiny.  He’s a kid.  An almost-four-year-old kid. My still-my-baby but not-a-baby-baby anymore will turn four in July.  FOUR.   Four years old.  Each year gains traction in an increasingly maddening race designed to prove grandmas everywhere correct when they warned us long ago that time flies by more quickly each year.

My little boy is turning four this summer.  We will celebrate.  We will celebrate Tucker’s amazing ability to drag us away from our many screens to act as air traffic controllers, astronauts and garbage truck drivers.  We will dance and sing and eat cake.  We will play in the ocean and in the sand.  We will find liminal moments and cherish them forever.  We will watch fireworks and a golf cart parade.  We will tell him how much he’s changed our lives and that his presence in our hearts and our home has brought a level of love, joy, and wonder previously unknown.

We will celebrate him.  His perfection.  His laugh.  His messy hands, his hugs and his stinky feet.

We will celebrate Tucker.

We will celebrate four.

We will be young.

This has been a Finish the Sentence Friday post.  The sentence is “This summer I plan to…”

Your hosts:

Dawn’s Disaster (Twitter, Facebook)

Cicada photo credit


by Kristi Campbell

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  • Alana Terry - Yuck, I would probably freak out a small amount with the bugs too. Keep your mouth closed! How long until they all die out or move away?May 10, 2013 – 1:26 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Alana,
    I think they’re here for like 2 weeks or something? Gross. Thanks for the advice on keeping my mouth closed!May 10, 2013 – 1:27 pmReplyCancel

  • Janine Huldie - Kevin and I were actually just talking about the cicadas being bad from what he was reading this morning. So, as I was reading this it was truly so timely from our most recent conversation before he went to work. And Tucker and Emma are going to both be four years old this July. We are so going to be celebrating here, too. And from all she keeps telling me that she wants, I may very well be in the poor house just yet, lol!! Thanks so much Kristi for linking up with us once again and I truly always look forward to seeing your take on the sentence each and every week. You never disappoint!! 🙂May 10, 2013 – 1:34 pmReplyCancel

  • Kenya G. Johnson - I’m gonna be honest with you and tell you that I skimmed that first paragraph. And by skim I didn’t read it. ‘Cause that how scared I am, and I’m hoping that I’m just a pinch south enough that I won’t see those things. UGH. I don’t remember this happening before – seeing them live – but I do remember a summer at my grandparents house in Pennsylvania that their carcasses – shells whatever were all over the trees trunks. Back then I was a tom boy and I thought it was neat. I’d pick them off the tree and put them on my shirt. They stuck to cotton. I’m such a girl now. I don’t know who that child was!!

    Anyhoo – love the picture of Tucker. He has the most delightful smile. All you words I as far as where has the time gone – I say that every birthday, and each school year. Waaaaaah!May 10, 2013 – 1:39 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Janine,
    So sweet that both our kids will be four this summer. Where does the time go? And yeah, the cicadas are pretty creepy – I am NOT looking forward to their appearance. At all.May 10, 2013 – 1:43 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Kenya,
    HAHA that you didn’t read the first paragraph! I just talked about them coming out for an orgy after being in the ground for 17 years. And I hear you – I am SUCH a girl now too. Well, when it comes to bugs, anyway. Not when it comes to doing my nails or makeup and stuff.
    And yes WAAAAH!May 10, 2013 – 1:44 pmReplyCancel

  • Considerer - Wow! I don’t envy you the cicadas.

    And I totally don’t know you or your situation, but something in me really baulks at the idea of your baby on a bus on his own. He’s only been alive 4 years. It’ll be effort, but find a way round that one if you can.

    Loved the pic.May 10, 2013 – 1:49 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Considerer,
    Yeah, I think he’s too young for the bus, too, although some of the kids in his class ride it successfully. Still, so scary.May 10, 2013 – 1:52 pmReplyCancel

  • Kerri - I hear you on the bus issue, Boo is not getting anywhere near a bus until she can go on Allies! As far as cicadas, how strange and gross is this? They were up here 2 summers ago and some kid got the idea to make earrings out of them. She sold them to the summer tourists!! I think she made enough for her college tuition.May 10, 2013 – 2:02 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Kerri,
    Seriously, people bought cicada earrings? What is wrong with them?? Ew. And yeah, the bus scares the crap out of me. I do need to figure something out though…sigh…May 10, 2013 – 2:06 pmReplyCancel

  • Jen - Hey! You should have asked me, we have TONS of cicada photos! Our infestation was 3 years ago. We also have yearly ones as well, I always said if we moved I would miss the sound. Don’t forget the sound, it will be DEAFENING! Since my sister is a science teacher she is always happy to pick them up and let them crawl on her. GEEERRROOOOSSSS! Not me!
    And a very pre pre pre happy birthday to the luckiest boy in the world, cause he has a mom who REALLY cares!May 10, 2013 – 2:09 pmReplyCancel

  • Kate - I hope you get some “you time” too this summer!May 10, 2013 – 2:10 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Jen!
    UGH I’m dreading the cicadas! Sorry to hear they invaded there, too. And ewwwww that your sister lets them crawl all over her. Ew. Ew. Ew. *SHUDDER*
    And awwww to your sweet pre-pre-pre birthday wishes for Tucker. Love that.May 10, 2013 – 2:12 pmReplyCancel

  • Sara - Love love this post. Partly b/c I know you and know how much you hate the bugs (and especially the fact that they “invade”), but also b/c I know how you struggle w/ putting your baby boy on a big scary bus. ….and b/c I too will be celebrating Tucker turning 4 this summer. Oh, and did I mention how much I love the drawing?? …it’s just a really good post.

    And y’know what else? In anticipation of the bug invasion in your area, I put together a bug-themed Friday-comics email (I did it weeks ago) and was planning to dedicate it to you (figuring that maybe if you can laugh at the bugs they won’t seem quite so…..creepy). I almost sent it today, but decided to save it for next week. It would have been so apropos!

    Hugs to you Tuck!May 10, 2013 – 2:16 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Sara! Thank you and I can’t wait for the dedicated-to-ME (mememememe) bug comic post. So glad you love the drawing! My favorite part is the “want to make babies with me?” “no, you’re ugly.”
    And yeah, totally struggling with putting Tucker on a big-boy bus. I have nightmares about it. Maybe he’s I mean I am not ready…hopefully we’ll be in Colorado at some point so we can celebrate Tucker (and by Tucker I mean ourselves) together. With wine and laughs and hugs and happy.May 10, 2013 – 2:19 pmReplyCancel

  • Anita @ Losing Austin - So I Married An Ax Murder is amazing!! Truly a fav here. I rarely run across people who even remember it, you made my day.

    Instead of bugs, I’m simply trying to survive s**kes… see, I can’t even write the word for fear. But they are out and about and hubs has already had to kill two in our yard. They’re black and not poisonous, but as I’ve pointed out many times, I will die of a stroke or heart attack if one gets near me. So yes, they can be deadly.

    I have no advice on the trusting people thing- only hugs. And a distant celebration with you over 4.May 10, 2013 – 2:42 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Anita,
    YAY to us having even more in common – I love that movie! And s**kes!?!?!?! YIKES. I would die of a heart attack too. So yes, I’d definitely say that they are deadly. Glad you have a hubs who doesn’t mind killing them. Yikes.May 10, 2013 – 2:56 pmReplyCancel

  • Lori Lavender Luz - My friend Melissa at Stirrup-Queens was telling me about the impending cicada invasion. Sounds so Exorcist-y to me. *shivvvver*

    Um, I’m sure that thought will help you cope 😉

    Happy early birthday to your sweet Tucker (what a cutie). Motherhood is so weird. The minutes, hours and days go so slowly, but the months and years give us whiplash.May 10, 2013 – 3:09 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Lori,
    It does sound Exorcist-y! Blech. And yeah, you totally helped. Thanks, a lot.
    I never thought about it like that but you said this so perfectly: “The minutes, hours and days go so slowly, but the months and years give us whiplash.” Awesome.May 10, 2013 – 3:17 pmReplyCancel

  • Dana - My kids have summer birthdays too, and while we celebrate, I also mourn the time passing too quickly. And thanks for reminding me about the cicadas – yuck!May 10, 2013 – 3:48 pmReplyCancel

  • Stephanie @ Mommy, for real. - I’m trying something new- call it a brain exercise. I’m going to comment on things from the bottom up, you know, the reverse order in which I read them. That photo of Tucker is beautiful and breathtaking. 4 is such a big deal- I feel a little sad with each passing birthday of my kids. And me too, I guess- this July I turn 35! That’s Advanced Maternal Age if I was KU! (knocked up.) That “I am beyond fucking ugly” is the first time I have honestly laughed out loud (not fake LOL- an audible sound) reading something in a long time. And lastly, I hate bugs. Hate. Them. Especially those noisy MFers, cicadas. Gah.May 10, 2013 – 4:23 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Dana,
    It’s hard to not mourn the time passing. Sigh.May 10, 2013 – 4:51 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Stephanie, I like your brain exercise! 4 is a huge deal. It’s amazing and wonderful and sad…
    Happy big birthday to YOU! 35! Wow. And SO glad I made you laugh audibly and not with a fake LOL. Cicadas suck.May 10, 2013 – 4:53 pmReplyCancel

  • clark - “I am beyond fucking ugly”

    I am officially in a state of blog Post envy! At the risk of sounding like there is a teenage boy laughing inside me, I will simply say, I have laughed out loud at my computer reading your Post.

    Hats off…

    (and what the hell is the deal with time *speeding up*??! it’s not just that times passes. we all get that! But 4 into 5 faster than 3 turned into 4! damn)May 10, 2013 – 6:21 pmReplyCancel

  • Betty Taylor - I love the cute smile. He is adorable! Why do babies have to grow up? Putting him on a bus will be so hard! My baby is now 18 and he is such a great kid. I have so much fun with him. I will be sending him off to college in the fall.

    Cicadas are super ugly! It seems like they come back more often than 17 years. Either that or I am getting old!May 10, 2013 – 7:11 pmReplyCancel

  • Jean Heff - WAAAAAAAAA! My baby/not-baby is going to be 4 this year too. Suddenly they are so tall looking and those legs look like boy legs.
    I am certain that there is somewhere you can take Tucker in the area you live in. I have no help but I am confident you will find a place, even if it’s hiring someone to come to your home and watch him. Good luck, Kristi.May 10, 2013 – 7:17 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Clark!
    Thanks pal! So glad I made you laugh today! Did Roger and Scott approve as well? And yeah, speeding up faster and faster…too fast.May 10, 2013 – 8:24 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Betty,
    Wow, 18! I bet the time flew…how wonderful to hear that you have so much fun with your son! And I think the cicadas actually DO come back more often – somebody here told me that there are annual ones and periodic ones. Which means that some are here every year, and others wait for a long, long time…May 10, 2013 – 8:26 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Jean,
    WWWWAAAAAAAA! indeed! You’re so right about their little legs all of a sudden looking like little boy legs. So fast. And thanks for the good luck, I’m thinking of having somebody come to the house a couple days a week. It’s just how I get Tucker here after school….ugh…May 10, 2013 – 8:27 pmReplyCancel

  • Mombo - I’ve only experienced that bug thing once (which was enough..) they are so loud! guess they never come to Alaska? I wonder about Oregon. hmmmm
    and even though the years pass more and more quickly, it gets better and better. Truly.
    Much loveMay 10, 2013 – 8:41 pmReplyCancel

  • K - OMG Tucker is so cute!!! & I’m so afraid of bugs that I couldn’t even *look* at the picture of the cicada that you posted…Should be a fun summer. 😉May 10, 2013 – 9:03 pmReplyCancel

  • Emily - Oh how I hate those cicadas – they are hideous! I once had a water bug appear in my NYC apartment many years ago…my roommate was out and I was alone with this giant bug. So I threw my shoe at it and then went running back into my bedroom. I stayed in there all night and in the morning I was still afraid to go in our kitchen. I made my roommate check if the coast was clear when she got home later that day. Anyway, aside from those cicadas I’d say the rest of your summer will be great!May 10, 2013 – 11:32 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Emily,
    Gah to the cicadas! Nasty little things…haha to you hiding in your room until your roommate got there…but when the coast was clear, didn’t you wonder where the bug went? Or was coast clear = dead bug?May 10, 2013 – 11:34 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - K- thanks, love. Huge. And yeah, I’m totally afraid of them, too…May 10, 2013 – 11:34 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Mombo! I hope they’re not in Oregon! I think they’re an east coast thing mostly, though. Nasty.May 10, 2013 – 11:35 pmReplyCancel

  • Kate Hall - I’m actually rather fond of cicadas. I know. That’s weird. Our 17-year friends were in Chicago in 2007, I think. We went to the woods to see them and touch them. It was kind of weird because there weren’t any near my house. We had to drive about three miles east to get to them. There was some kind of wall they didn’t cross.

    I don’t know about the bus thing. That stuff freaks me out, so I’m kind of overly protective when it comes to my kids being with other people, so I have no advice for you. I remember they offered my son full-day school when he was three and the bus would come to pick him up and drop him off and all I thought was, are you crazy? No way. And I could only think like what you thought – what if something happened? He wouldn’t be able to tell me. I just wasn’t comfortable with that.May 11, 2013 – 12:52 amReplyCancel

  • Melissa@Home on Deranged - Brief, drunken bug orgy. ’nuff said.
    btw…I now have Rod Stewart’s “Forever Young” playing on the soundtrack in my head. Might have something to do with just watching him on The Voice. But whatevs.
    Good luck on your summer plans. 🙂May 11, 2013 – 1:30 amReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Kate,
    Really? Sorry but that is so weird. Want to switch lives with me when they get here for a couple of weeks because I am totally wigged out and am already considering buying a bee suit so none of them get on me, my hair, in my mouth…
    And yeah, the bus thing is really scary. I’m honestly not sure what to do. Sigh.
    Melissa,
    Ha to Rod Stewart’s voice – personally, I hear Fun, but we all know how much I love that song 😉May 11, 2013 – 5:38 pmReplyCancel

  • Sylvia - Gosh that little guy is cute! My oldest is going to be 37!!! I do so hope that the cicadas are all done having sex before his birthday party!! As far as advice about the bus and babysitters…that is my dilemma too. I don’t trust anyone either. Sorry I’m no help there for ya! I’m so glad you joined us at Friendship Friday. Please keep coming. I could use the comic relief! And I do appreciate your support and friendship!May 11, 2013 – 6:28 pmReplyCancel

  • Katia - That first cartoon of the cicadas is just awesome! And I completely share your fear of bugs, big, small, flying and non. I screamed “WHAT IS THAT??” today when I was cooking lunch and a flower Ben gave me and I tucked behind my ear fell and brushed against my face. I scared my four-year-old, but there’s nothing I can do about this, I just lose control.

    I don’t know what I would do about the bus situation. I completely identify with your concern at the same time you obviously need some time for yourself. Try not to feel guilty for taking it. I have a baby sitter that I trust completely. She worked for another family across the street and she would spend a couple of hours with Ben twice a week when he was 6 months old to 1 year old and now she helps me in the evenings when my husband works late. I don’t have any ground breaking suggestions, just to go with your gut and ask your neighbours for recommendations.May 11, 2013 – 8:23 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Katia,
    I can SO relate to screaming “WHAT IS THAT” when thinking it’s a bug. One day, me earring fell out onto my leg and I swatted it off and stood up thinking it was a bug. It took me 2 days to find it.
    Thanks for the input regarding babysitters and busses. I’m sure we’ll figure it out, but until we do, I’ll stress about it. I’m so glad you found a sitter that you trust completely. That makes such a huge difference!May 12, 2013 – 12:13 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Sylvia,
    Thanks for hosting the Friendship Friday hop! And I hope the cicadas are done having sex before his birthday, too! Happy Mother’s Day!May 12, 2013 – 12:13 pmReplyCancel

  • Jessica - (1) Those bugs freak me out. I hope they really do stop in CT (I’m only 15 mins away, so I hope they don’t spill over into my woods :)). (2) I wish I had some advice for you on childcare. I’m so lucky to have not had to worry about that so far. (3) My birthday is in July, too! I know he won’t be a baby anymore, but four is pretty fun. 🙂 Hope this ends up being your best summer yet!May 12, 2013 – 9:49 pmReplyCancel

  • Rachel - So many things: I like the sound of cicadas. I think I’m alone in that and weird. I am so with you on the trusting someone else with your baby. On the fear list, that’s numero uno for me. F bugs! And finally, sweet Tucker! 🙂May 12, 2013 – 9:58 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Rachel,
    I don’t mind the noise of cicadas if they never touch me. Yeah, trusting others with this amazing cargo is unimaginable.May 12, 2013 – 10:24 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Jessica,
    I hope for you that they stop in CT, too! Yay for July Birthdays 🙂 And yeah, I’m looking forward to four.May 12, 2013 – 10:25 pmReplyCancel

  • Joy - I did not even know the cicada apocalypse was coming upon us! Thanks for the warning!

    And I totally get the thing about trusting someone else with our kids. I had such a hard time to put him on the bus when he started with kindergarten. It is really hard.

    As for his birthday: can’t wait to hear how you will celebrate your beautiful little man! xoxoMay 13, 2013 – 8:25 amReplyCancel

    • Kristi - Joy,
      It may just be an east coast thing, but there are billions of them expected. Billions. Shudder. I’m seriously freaking out!
      So did Sunny do okay on the bus??? I’m freaking out about that, too…sigh.May 13, 2013 – 3:22 pmReplyCancel

  • Joy - He was perfectly fine on the bus right from the beginning. I was freaking out and asked kindergarten to call me as soon as he arrived which they did and they told me that he was totally content and happy. I worried for no reason at all.May 13, 2013 – 4:17 pmReplyCancel

    • Kristi - Joy,
      That’s a huge relief. Thank you! Maybe I will get the nerve to try it. It would really make this summer easier because at least a babysitter could be at my house waiting for him and buy me some time at work. Ah, sometimes juggling everything is so hard! Thanks for the reassurance.May 13, 2013 – 5:58 pmReplyCancel

  • Joy - You’re welcome! xoxo Maybe you can just give it a try and see how it works for you both. If it doesn’t work you can still go back and drive him by yourself.

    I’ve learned that most of the time we moms have more problems with situations like these than the kids do! 😉May 14, 2013 – 2:45 amReplyCancel

    • Kristi - Joy,
      You’re probably right! It’s just scary….but I’ll bet Tucker would actually enjoy the bus. Thanks for the encouragement and reassurance! I appreciate it. 🙂May 14, 2013 – 7:59 amReplyCancel

  • Mama Meerkat - Mini has a dead cicada that she keeps in a box as a pet. It is named Soo-cah-dah.May 15, 2013 – 3:41 pmReplyCancel

    • Kristi - Mama Meerkat,
      Doesn’t it STINK??? Ew. Sorry 🙁May 15, 2013 – 7:25 pmReplyCancel

  • Kimberly - Oh those bugs. Oh. No. I hate them. What is their purpose? Really. I’d like to speak to the maker.
    4 was a rough birthday. It meant so many new changes. I totally get that trust issue. I don’t know what to tell you about that. Just do. My son’s teacher is a 25 year veteran so I was able to let go a bit easier. Would it help to find out how long they’ve been schooling?May 24, 2013 – 1:08 pmReplyCancel

  • Kristi - Kimberly,
    Ha to speaking with the maker! I completely trust Tucker’s teachers. It’s the unknown bus aides that I’m having a problem with. I’m going to ask if I can meet him/her beforehand. Thanks for the advice, because it never occurred to me to ask to meet the bus aid first! (dumb) 😀May 26, 2013 – 10:43 amReplyCancel

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