Poly Olys

Dear Caden,

Your newest obsession in life is that of bugs. You are fascinated by the way they fly, crawl, their coloring, what they eat - literally, anything that deals with bugs, you are all over it. Last night, while you were in the bath, you informed me that you found a roly poly at school. Your face lit with excitement as you described it to me and how you let it crawl all over your arm. You proudly then told me that you didn't squish him because "Poly Olys don't bite Momma, they only lick you."
"Ahhh...Roly Polys don't lick silly Caden."
"Yes they do!"
"How do you know they lick? Did you see it's tongue?"
"No silly Momma. They lick because I licked it."
I choked on my spit and look at you.
"You did what?! Caden! You don't lick bugs! That is nasty! Ok?! Please don't lick bugs again because you can get really sick from that. Ok?...Ok?!?!"
"Yeah, ok." You face held a look of disappointment.
I try to soften my panic by praising you. "Thank you for not squishing him. Roly Polys are nice bugs. Did you put him back down so he could play with his other Roly Poly friends?"
You stare at me and I know that look.
"Yeah, but I couldn't because he got stuck on my tongue and he got lost."
"...Lost?"
You won't eat pizza but you will lick and accidentally eat a Roly Poly. I hear in foreign countries grubs and other insects are delicacies. Gross.

Love,
Mommy