while you were sleeping

D,

One night last week while you were already asleep, a poisonous centipede about 6-7" long managed to crawl in under the front door. Mom just happened to get up from her late night reading and find it in the kitchen, just inches from the door to your tiny room. Though on the other side of the door, it was found not more than 2 feet from where you were asleep.

Uncle Marc (who had experienced a centipede several times larger while in Sri Lanka) ably removed it. Well, sort of. He very ably captured it and put it on display in his own room for a while until -- at Mom's repeated insistence -- he finally removed it a good distance from our unit (where he continued its display by leaving it in an overturned clear plastic cup beneath a rock.

As insects go, it was very impressive. But it's a scary thing when some small thing with such potential for harm can wriggle within such proximity to you. It reminds us that no amount of vigilance over your care, your protection, and your safety is to excess.

Dad