Since arriving home, I’ve tried to put some sense to the gardens, as well as, very gradually, set things right in the house. It’s a slow process! When I arrived home from running errands yesterday, I stooped over to clear out some weeds around a bush. I wasn’t wearing garden gloves. It was near the completion of the job that I felt a sting and saw, beneath some compost, a bee struggling to free itself. At first it didn’t register that I had received my very first bee sting, but within moments, as the pain intensified, I put two and two together! OUCH!
I ditched the garden and headed for the house, took a swig of liquid benylin in the kitchen and reached for the phone to call my daughter. I could see the stinger, but given that it was on my right hand on my ring-finger, I couldn’t sort out a way to get it out. And man, did it hurt! My son-in-law kept me relax-breathing (lol) while my daughter headed over with her tweezers. The sweat broke out on my forehead as I feared a reaction. My finger was swelling as the minutes ticked by. I smile as I type this drama now, but it was all about the ‘new’ and the ‘unknown’ at the time.
Two doors down, my neighbour grabbed her tweezers and pulled the small-but-painful stinger out and I experienced immediate relief. These neighbours have come to my aid more than once! In fact, her husband once patiently talked me through the change of an oven element, so that I would always know how to make that repair myself. Good friends, definitely!
When my daughter arrived, we sat and chatted about my first bee sting. I expressed my gratitude to her and my son-in-law for their quick support and love. I’d really enjoy reading your first bee sting story! Please, do share! I will never again shrug off someone’s account of their ‘clash’ with the insect world!