The Spider

This morning, while washing my hair in the shower, I noticed a spider working its way up the half wall in the back of the shower.

I thought it was just some house spider and I was not surprised to see it in the bathroom. I think that the louvers of the exhaust fan bring them down from the attic. I just looked up “spiders found in homes” and yes, there is one called the American House Spider.

I know a few people who would have gone running and screaming out to the street after burning their house down if they saw a spider in the shower with them. I am not one of those people.

I watched the spider make its way up the wall to the ledge and then move on to the glass. That’s where his attempts to get out of the shower ended. His spider legs didn’t have any grip on the wet glass and he continually fell back to the ledge. He would crawl along the ledge and try another section hoping for better results, but no, back to the ledge.

Towards the end of my shower, he walked along the tub ledge at the base of the shower door, hoping to find another way out.

My shower was over and I had a decision. Let the spider crawl freely around my house and worry about whether it was really an innocent American House Spider, not something much worse, or do what I usually do. I did what I usually do. I grabbed a piece of toilet paper, squished the spider, and dropped it into the toilet.

I know there are more where he came from. Maybe when one appears in warmer weather, I’ll toss it out the window instead.