Phobias

Did you know that every time I use a public restroom I make sure that I get completely dressed before I flush the toilet out of fear that the toilet will overflow. I want to be sure that if that ever happens, and I have to run out of the overflowing bathroom stall, at least I'll have all my clothes on.

Want to know another one of my phobias?

Did you know that I have a fear of water plants? Yes. They scare me. I think about the things that could be lurking in them and the microorganisms living on them waiting to infect you. Gross. They smell and they're slimy and you never know what is swimming around down there in them.

In fact, one time my little brother, David, and I were in a canoe on my uncle's lake in Michigan. We got out of the boat to explore the shore a little, and when we returned to the canoe David decided to push the boat, which I was already in, away from the dock, then jump for it to make it back into the boat himself. I knew this was going to be bad! The canoe tipped, dumping David and me into the lake. I found myself in shallow, absolutely disgusting lake water. I was completely surrounded by lake plants, slime, smelly foam, and the kind of muck that would suck you and your shoes down to the depths of the lake, never to return. I think it was the only honest-to-goodness panic attack I've ever had. I couldn't breath. I refused to put my legs down further into the awful lake. I was freaking out. I think I may have drown had David not been there to help me to the shore. I don't think David has ever been the same since that day in the canoe.