I've also discovered that Wyatt needs a sibling or a friend to help keep him entertained. Believe it or not, there is only so much of child entertaining that I can do! The dogs kept him busy for a bit, as long as they followed him, Wyatt would walk all over the place, but there was a time that all of them, both child and canine, would lose interest in each other. 
I learned the most about myself in connection to camping at Mammoth Caves. Mammoth Caves are actually lava tubes in the ground that are large enough for a person to walk through. Now, as a teacher, I was big on teaching science and encouraging discovery. In order to discover certain things, however, you must overcome the fear of the unknown. I was always known for pushing my students just a bit if they were scared or nervous about something. Scared to touch a butterfly, let's touch one together. Scared to stand on the glass floor at the Shark Reef, I'm picking you up and we're standing on it. There is no reason for an intelligent, bright child to fear something that cannot hurt them. One of my most favorite subjects was desert animals, such as bats. We played games about bats, read books about bats, studied pictures about bats, and most importantly learned that most bats eat fruit, are blind, and do not attack people. And this is where I begin my story of "The Incident at Mammoth Caves."
THE INCIDENT AT MAMMOTH CAVES
I was already nervous to begin with. Walking into a dark cavernous tunnel is really not my idea of a good time, but I followed Byron and Wyatt with the 2 dogs, flashlight in hand. We began walking through the dark tunnel, hunched back style. I realized it was just a pain walking 2 dogs on leashes through this dumb tunnel. I started to think, "There's no one here. I should just let the dogs off the leashes and let them roam. They are always good about staying close by." But then, as I stumbled through the poorly lit tunnel, hoping not to bump my head, I became very aware of the walls surrounding me. My claustrophobia set in, and of all the images to come into my mind, scenes from the movie, "I Am Legend," began playing in my head.
You know the scene where Will Smith loses his dog in a pitch black building, just hoping that you wouldn't see the flesh eating zombies feasting on Will's dog, his only best friend! By now my heart is pounding, and I've got my dogs' leashes gripped in my white-knuckled hands. There's no way I'm letting go now. The flesh eating zombies will get them, bite them, and cause them to turn against me. Then I'll have to pump them with a poison so they won't suffer.
At this moment, I should have turned around and said, "Have fun boys, we'll meet you outside." But no, I cannot show fear! I must venture forth. A few panicked breaths and steps later and I can see light at the other end of the tunnel, literally, not figuratively. It's too small to go through, but the light helps me to feel not so trapped. As I stop to admire my accomplishment, I hear "it." "It" is above me. "Squeak, squeeeaaaakkk. Squeak, squeak." I look up and see 2 beady bat eyes staring down at me. The bats that I taught numerous students to think of as fascinating, are not so fascinating anymore. These bats now became blood thirsty carnivores that at any moment could land on my head and suck out my brains. Immediately I lose it, and exclaim, "OK! I see bats! I am sooo very out of here!" I start to run out of the tunnel, but my panicked energy rubs off onto Wyatt, who immediately starts to cry and freak out. This, in turn, causes Byron to be upset with me and yells "Whoa, wait a minute Sommer! Look at what you're doing! Get a grip!" Which I do (after a few more moments of panic.). I then help Wyatt calm down and force both of us to look up at those blasted beady eyed bats so we won't be scared anymore. BTW, I still am. After taking some pictures, trying not to look terrified, I proceeded to speed walk out of the tunnel of doom and into the light and fresh air, where humans are supposed to be!
And so, my theory of bright intelligent people not needing to be scared of things that will not hurt them has gone bust. I have thrown it out the window. Either that, or I need to stop watching zombie movies.
