It came flying at me from deep inside the pantry.
I swore it was a bat...or a bird...or an alien.
I was all alone in my apartment, making food for a long camping weekend with family.
I had gone to the pantry to throw away the ends of the vegetables I had been cutting up.
As soon as I opened the door, I heard it.
A loud humming noise, like a June bug stuck against the screen of an open window on a hot summer night.
To this day I can still remember how scared I felt when it flew out from the corner of the pantry and directly into my face.
Funny how just remembering that moment brings back that feeling .
It started flying in circles over my head, like a bat would. I thought for a second it was one, but I couldn't get a good look at it because it was flying so fast.
I was screaming at the top of my lungs (like a girl of course).
My downstairs neighbors at the time were older and a bit hard of hearing, which was normally a good thing for me having two young, rambunctious boys.
But it also meant that they likely wouldn't be coming to save me.
I had to deal with the bat/bird/alien thing all on my own.
I opened the patio door, the whole time holding my left hand over my head in an attempt to keep it from getting tangled in my hair.
I searched the apartment for something to capture it with, or to guide it out the door.
Of course, there was no fishing net handy.
Found a baseball bat though, and a shoe.
I'm guessing that it was a pretty hilarious sight to see. Had it been on video, it would have surely gone viral.
Picture me, running around my apartment, baseball bat in one hand, shoe in the other, frantically swatting at the air, screaming whenever it flew too close.
Yes, I know. I'm clearly a wussy.
I finally made contact.
I'll never forget the sound it made when the shoe connected and this thing landed on my kitchen floor.
It laid there, dazed and confused for a moment until I squished it.
Then I took a closer look at it.
Snapped a picture because I knew I would need proof when I told this story around the campfire.
It's wing span had to have been nearly 6 inches long. And it was ugly. The kind of ugly only a mother could love.
I Googled it. Apparently, this was a hummingbird moth.
I have no idea how this monster of a moth could have even gotten into my apartment. And I didn't really want to think about whether it had a family hiding somewhere.
It took awhile that night for my heart to stop racing.
I dreamt of winged creatures that were trying to pick me up and fly me away to feed me to their babies.
But I survived. And truth be told, this didn't even rank very high on the list of really bad things that have happened to me.
I laughed at myself the next morning and my family laughed at me when I told this story around the campfire.
I added it to the list of memorable moments in my life.
We all have them.
Moments that stir up such strong feelings that we can channel them, even years later.
Some are scary or sad. And some bring feelings of deep joy and gratitude.
All have shaped our lives in one way or another.
Take some time to reflect on yours today and the impact they've had on your life.
I did.
And after reflecting on this particular moment, I made sure every window in my new house is sealed up tight and the screens don't have any holes in them.
No way am I letting another one of those things in!
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