Stop being such a puss, Johann

The Johann family took a spur-of-the-moment drive to the St. Louis Zoo yesterday, as we often do, being zoo members. Not really all that significant an event, really, except for the fact that, on this particular trip to the zoo, Johann came a baby step closer to growing a pair.

As alluded to in a previous post, I hate snakes. I don’t really know why. I know they’re not “slimy”, I’ve never been bitten by one, I’ve never had some wicked nightmare about being buried up to my neck in snakes (at least not yet), or anything like that. I can’t really even say I’m “afraid” of snakes. Of course, to be fair, I can’t really say that I’m not “afraid” of snakes, either. I just simply don’t like them.

However, I am extremely fascinated by them. I’ve seen probably every Animal Planet show having anything to do with snakes. They’re truly amazing creatures. I am honestly mystified by snakes.

But I still don’t like them.

But as I said, I took a step closer to sacking up. We were in the Children’s Zoo section, in the Discovery Center building where you can pet guinea pigs and/or rabbits, touch a turtle’s shell, things like that. There was a zoo employee holding a snake- a banded California king snake, to be precise- and my oldest L’il Johann went right over and stroked that sucker. So, I had no choice but to nut up and pet that freakin’ thing as well.

Now whether you choose to believe it or not, this was not about possibly getting punked out by a six-year-old. It was simply to try to prove a point to him. I have made absolutely NO secret of my dislike for snakes to my son. He knows I don’t like them. But I have also tried to convey to him that there is no reason [for me] to be afraid of them, and I know that.

Basically, I want him to understand that even though you might be “afraid” of something, you can overcome it. His “demon” is bugs. Spiders, moths, ants, bees, you name it. He likes the “kiddie” bugs- fireflies, ladybugs, butterflies, things like that- but pretty much any others just absolutely freak him out. So I was trying to show him that even though Daddy doesn’t like snakes, he can still touch them, and then hope to parlay that to his not liking bugs. If he grows up still being afraid of bugs, then so be it- I just don’t want to teach him by example that it’s okay to be a puss about snakes for no reason. Hell, my luck, he’ll grow up to be a herpetologist. I mean, I know almost everyone has some sort of fear, rational or not so much, but I can’t very well tell him he has no reason to be afraid of bugs while I’m pissing myself over a snake, now can I?

He told me afterward he was very proud of me for touching a snake even though I don’t like them and gave me a hug and a kiss. That was worth far more than at least temporarily “conquering” the fear of snakes itself. I suppose one of these days I’m going to have to take the ultimate plunge of actually holding one, but I’ll have to build up to that.

Baby steps, folks. Baby steps.