Unfortunately, the resort and lodge also had bees (now I know why Utah is nicknamed the beehive state; bees seemed to be everywhere). And a bee stung me while there. It was my first bee sting. Yep, in the 34 years of my life, I had never been stung by a bee. Until now. It was painful. It was like a student nurse drawing blood for the first time, just gabbing the needle in. The pain wasn't even the worst part-- Jack was with me, and there was more than one bee.
Jack and I were killing time as the maids cleaned our room. We were climbing up and down the stairs near our room, as that is one of Jack's favorite activities right now. Each landing has a wooden deck. As we had climbed the stairs for what felt like the 20th time, Jack was ready for a break. It was nearing his nap time, so we stopped on the deck above our room. He wrapped his blanket around him (we hardly go anywhere without "blankie") and stared down at the water fountains below. He enjoyed watching the water hit the surface of the pond.
I started rummaging around my bag, looking for a wipe to clean Jack's dirty hands with. The dusty rails he used to steady himself up the stairs had coated his hands. I found the wipes and started wiping the dirt off. As I was doing so, a flying insect landed on my head. I waved it a way with my hand and continued on with my task. Then the flying insect touched down on my knee. I looked down and saw it was a bee. Then I heard the buzzing. I looked around and saw at least 10 bees. They were coming out of the cracks on the wooden deck.
At that moment, the bee on my knee stung me. Seeing the handful of bees and getting stung happened with in a 10-15 window, and just as fast, my brain processed that I had to get Jack out there. That these bees could swarm us. I had just yelled an expletive from being stung, and now I was yelling for him to "come to mommy!" In stead of coming to me, he started crying, which I understand his reaction. But I didn't have time to be empathetic and give him comfort because the buzzing was increasing in frequency. I grabbed his hand and fireman dragged him to the top of the stair. At the stairs, I picked him up and carried him down the flight of stairs.
Once I realized the bees were not following us down, I collapsed at the bottom stair, cradling Jack to me. I tried to offer him some reassuring words, as he was still crying, but I was too shaken up to give him the comfort he needed. I texted Bobby that I just got stung by bee and to help. Then, I broke down crying; loud sobs with tears streaming down. My crying only further upset Jack. Luckily, Bobby was close by in a conference room and was able to make it to us with in minutes, taking Jack from me and giving the poor kid the reassurance and comfort he needed.
I wasn't crying from the pain. I was crying because of how close Jack come to being swarmed by bees. It could have been much worse than one bee sting (that had the swelling go away after just a couple of hours). That is what scared me so much, and still upsets me days later, about how much danger my son was in. Stupid bees, putting Jack's safety at risk. See if I ever help you out again when you're drowning in our pool (ok, I know I shouldn't let one bad experience ruin my relation with all of you bees).
It's crazy to me how ingrained those protective parent instincts are. I could only think about Jack's safety and getting him out of that situation (and if truth be told, getting myself out of there too). I'm glad I have those instincts and can react quickly in threatening situations, ensuring my son's safety. However, I really hope I don't have to use those instincts again. Having your child's safety threatened was one of the worst feelings I've ever had, so never again, do you hear me universe? Thanks universe, your friend, Suzie.
It was not all scary moments in Utah. We all had fun at the Olympic Park, watching skiers practice and climbing on their playground. We enjoyed delicious food along Main Street. And we loved the cooler weather, surrounded by beautiful scenery that is Park City.
Jack at the Olympic Park; he had such fun there!
The lovely view at the resort and lodge
Yummy dinner at the restaurant Zoom; the service was great here t!
Poor Sweeties. That bee encounter was no fun. Nice that Dad was close by and came to the rescue. Hugs, Annie
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