Mama Diaries

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Jellyfishing

Here's another story from my vacation to Hilton Head:

My son was playing in the ocean near the shore when he felt something soft rub up against his leg.
He ran out of the water yelling, "Mama, an animal touched me!"

I remained calm, because I didn't want him completely freaking out."What do you think it was?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said. "It was soft. Maybe a shark!"

I shook my head. "Sharks aren't soft. I can't think of anything soft that might've touched you. Why don't you just hang out at the edge of the water. I'm sure whatever it was will go away."

He frowned. Then he turned and walked down the shoreline. I watched him. After a moment, he stopped and stooped down. He was clearly examining something. I went over to see what it was.

A transparent blob with  short tentacles had washed up on the shore. A jellyfish. My genius son reached down and touched it.

It was my turn to freak out. "Stop, Bubba!" I said. "Jellyfish can still sting even when they're dead!"

"But I just wanted to see if it was what touched me."

I frowned at him. "Was it?"

"Yes."

Then he grinned.  "Mama, can I go jellyfishing, like Sponge Bob?"

"Absolutely not!" I said.

 Oy!  That's all I needed - a trip to the hospital!


48 comments:

  1. He definitely didn't want to touch it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. If he does he has to wear the black rim glasses to do it right. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. it was most definitely a shark...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Painful. And doesn't go well with peanut butter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll keep that in mind. Jellyfish doesn't go well with peanut butter. :)

      Delete
  5. I would not have liked to touch it, can be very painful.

    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've never been stung by a jellyfish, but I can imagine how much it hurts!

      Delete
  6. Well at least he validated his suspicions haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Always good to know what bumps into you in the water!

      Delete
  7. Oh, gosh! I got stung by a jelly fish on Galveston Island when I was about 9 years old. My cousins, who lived on the Island, rubbed sand on to get the gel off and then poured on ammonia. It was the most horrible thing I had experienced in my life up to that time. I still would not want to repeat it!
    Visit me at: Life & Faith in Caneyhead
    I am Ensign B of Tremps' Troops
    with the A to Z Challenge

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That had to be awful! I've heard meat tenderizer works well. As a SCUBA instructor, I had to have some in a first aid kit when I dove in ocean environments.

      Delete
  8. I don't know much about jellyfish. I thought they were generally harmless, unless you went out and made an enemy of them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you bump into their tentacles, you'll get stung.

      Delete
  9. That was going to be my question, can jellyfish sting after they're dead? Jellyfish have the most misleadingly delightful name ever :P

    ReplyDelete
  10. The first thing I thought was, oh no, be careful.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh mam you should be careful in your next tour to that same place.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Carry meat tenderizer with you; it's the only thing I've found that helps.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love the ocean as I grew up by it... only a 20 min drive but jelly fish have always made me nervous... I've heard the sting is really painful.. I'm glad your son wasn't stung ♡


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Portuguese man of war and sea wasps make me nervous. None of the other ones concern me as much. But I still wouldn't want to get stung by any of them!

      Delete
  14. Watch out for the jellyfish. Thank goodness it wasn't a shark lol).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There were a lot of dolphins in the area, so I wasn't too concerned about sharks.

      Delete
  15. Gosh, can't imagine being stung by a jellyfish! Happy weekend, dear! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ohmydear. I once got stung by a jellyfish and it was excruciating, at least for the first 2-3 hours. Pain eventually waned and disappeared but it was a very uncomfortable 4-5 days. I'm glad it didn't sting Bubba. I think it's rare though that a jellyfish would spare anyone... any contact is a stimulus for them to "sting".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry about your painful experience! I'm glad Bubba wasn't stung, too!

      Delete
  17. I remember when I was young my sister and I took a trip to the beach and she brought a friend along.

    The girl ended up have one get wrapped around her leg. I had to carry her up tot he hotel and from there we had to go tot he hospital.

    I have never personally been stung, but after that I was a little less happy about ocean visits.

    Glad your son was okay.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I remember seeing jellyfish at the beach as a kid and being weirded out. Of course boys want to play with it. :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It doesn't help that Sponge Bob goes jellyfishing!

      Delete
  19. I didn't know they could sting after they were dead /interesting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what I learned when I lived in Florida.

      Delete
  20. Those bubble-headed jelly fish are not the bad kind for stinging, if you hold them on the top and they are quite soft. But he does need to be careful. I hope you had a good time on Hilton Head (it is crowded), it's just a little over an hour north of here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They appeared to have very small tentacles. I'm sure you've seen quite a few of them floating around Savannah!

      Delete
  21. I've been stung multiple times. Even the tiny ones hurt! Glad he was okay:)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Whoa, that was close. I remember my last jellyfish sting vividly and it was over 15 years ago. The pain is just monstrous. I've heard meat tenderizer can help, but I didn't know it at the time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't even imagine! We had a diver get stung at Pompano Beach, Florida, and we used meat tenderizer on him. It helped, but the poor guy was in a lot of pain until the stinging cells were removed and neutralized.

      Delete
  23. Eeek..I freak out when I see jellyfish. There was a huge group of them while snorkeling a few months ago and I retreated and went back to the boat.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Benign looking Blobs. That's a perfect term for them!

    ReplyDelete