All things serpentine

I am deathly afraid of snakes, always have been. There wasn't an experience that led to it, but I remember as a very young child I had a magic wand that I would take down to the basement; by tracing a circle around where I was standing, no snakes could get me. One time I was camping and stepped on a garter snake and it was the single most terrifying experience of my life.

So I took Lyla to the zoo today and showed her the snakes. Walked her right up to the Burmese python cage and let her pound on the glass. Then we looked at the boa constrictor in the case, the one that's been taxidermied in the same position ever since I was a kid and probably before. Finally, in the gift shop she held a green rubber snake that was eerily reminiscent of the one my foot met that day.

I don't want that child to be afraid of anything. But I hope I didn't take it too far today and inspire a lifelong love for all things serpentine. If I ever find out she's secretly caring for a garter snake in a cardboard box or something, I'm getting an apartment.