A great read and excellent point Todd. Cyndi never went to Iraq, but she did get deployed to Jordan for a bit. According to her, the camel spiders are even bigger than that. She hates all insects. She still won't forgive me for the time we lived in Nebraska and I found a giant praying mantis on my truck (it was at least five inches long), picked it up and it flew off my hand directly at her.
You know, I probably would've thought to take the same shot and say the same thing. Additionally, I also think this is the same enhancement technique men use for dating apps when they send inappropriate pics to females. That's another discussion.
I agree with you in that we almost make things bigger in our minds than they really are. We tell ourselves lies, then believe them, often with very few facts to base them on. Kinda like those subscribed to the MAGA ideology. Sorry.
What we have to realize and understand it sometimes comes down to perspective, and having the wrong perspective can keep us from the reality in front of us.
Yes, understanding the trick goes a long way towards not having unrealistic expectations ... whether good or bad about things that may not be as they appear.
lol, and don't even get me started on dating apps, or dating in general.
Actually, that may be an idea for a future post (or three). I'm so glad to be done with that. It was horrible ... and that was from a guy's perspective. I don't know how any women survive it at all.
I actually came here for the mantis: my toddler is obsessed with them, so I’ve ended up learning more about these insects than I ever thought I would. But I stayed for your amazing perspective.
The forced perspective analogy really works: so many things that feel enormous in the moment shrink once we step back. Moving countries, becoming a mom, even just surviving certain flights back when I was cabin crew – all felt like giant mantises at the time. With distance, most of them turned out to be much smaller bugs. Thanks for the reminder to check the angle before panicking.
I'm glad that the analogy resonated with you. lol, and I don't blame your toddler a bit for being obsessed with praying manis. Of all the cool insects and birds that are often right outside my office, the praying mantis are one of my favorites.
A great read and excellent point Todd. Cyndi never went to Iraq, but she did get deployed to Jordan for a bit. According to her, the camel spiders are even bigger than that. She hates all insects. She still won't forgive me for the time we lived in Nebraska and I found a giant praying mantis on my truck (it was at least five inches long), picked it up and it flew off my hand directly at her.
lol, I probably shouldn't laugh, but I can absolutely picture the scene with this Kamikaze praying mantis. 🤣
You know, I probably would've thought to take the same shot and say the same thing. Additionally, I also think this is the same enhancement technique men use for dating apps when they send inappropriate pics to females. That's another discussion.
I agree with you in that we almost make things bigger in our minds than they really are. We tell ourselves lies, then believe them, often with very few facts to base them on. Kinda like those subscribed to the MAGA ideology. Sorry.
What we have to realize and understand it sometimes comes down to perspective, and having the wrong perspective can keep us from the reality in front of us.
Yes, understanding the trick goes a long way towards not having unrealistic expectations ... whether good or bad about things that may not be as they appear.
lol, and don't even get me started on dating apps, or dating in general.
Actually, that may be an idea for a future post (or three). I'm so glad to be done with that. It was horrible ... and that was from a guy's perspective. I don't know how any women survive it at all.
I actually came here for the mantis: my toddler is obsessed with them, so I’ve ended up learning more about these insects than I ever thought I would. But I stayed for your amazing perspective.
The forced perspective analogy really works: so many things that feel enormous in the moment shrink once we step back. Moving countries, becoming a mom, even just surviving certain flights back when I was cabin crew – all felt like giant mantises at the time. With distance, most of them turned out to be much smaller bugs. Thanks for the reminder to check the angle before panicking.
Hi Valeria,
I'm glad that the analogy resonated with you. lol, and I don't blame your toddler a bit for being obsessed with praying manis. Of all the cool insects and birds that are often right outside my office, the praying mantis are one of my favorites.