My husband and I took our little son to the Zoo yesterday. One of the Zoo's workers told everybody that at a certain time he was going to take out one of the snakes for everybody can see it and touch it. :o My husband with a smile on his face asked me if I wanted to see it and I say 'yes' then he asked what about if they asked you to hold it, I answered 'NO WAY!'. :o He knows I hate snakes, they're creepy! I cannot even stand a roach, I don't like any kind of creepy insects or snakes. :( Here in Trinidad there are plenty of them around but I have never seen one before...
Well, when the time reached we went by the place where the guy has the snake resting on his neck. It was a python snake of about 7 feet long and very thick!. I carefully touched it and my son and husband too. I had a little boy standing next to me and the Zoo worker asked him if he wanted to hold the snake. He says 'No!'. Everybody laughed. ;D Then the guy turned to me and asked me if I would like to hold it. People...I don't know what it cames to me but I answered 'Sure, if you hold the head', :P he says, yes, I will hold the head, don't worry about it. Then he putted the snake on my neck while he was holding the head of it. Then he told me...now you hold the head like that (and he showed me how) Oh my gosh! I thought and I hold the whole snake by myself!. :o Everybody was watching it. It was really cool! I didn't have my camera with me, if not, I would definetly take a picture of it! ;D
What I learnt of this experience is two things: sometimes we think we are afraid of something but we are really not, and second how your mind can change so quickly from a 'No' to a 'Sure, why not?'. It made me feel more confident to the point that I killed a huge spider today without any help before I would really get upset about it but after holding that snake, nothing can stop me...*hehehe*. I just wanted to share this with you all.
A friend of mine has a 9 ½ foot long albino boa constrictor, named Delilah. She really is a beautiful snake. I could never hold her though. It took 3 grown men to pick her up and hold for them to take the snake's picture. My friend would let it loose in their living room while they were cleaning its snake cage.
wow, that that was so brave LDS, I don't think even under pressure I could be that brave as to say okay then!
I want to take my kids to the zoo, and I know I'll have to put a brave face on when it comes to them seeing or touching the snake that they have there, as I know that if I show any fear, it will be passed on to them!
I guess that's part of why you said yes, you sacrificed your fear and worry so that your Son didn't pick up on any anxiety!
I hope that they are able to take part in something like that whilst they are still young, and before any preconceptions start, unlike myself where I would jump at the slightest bug that comes near me!