While living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, we’ve been sending our son to a Thai school. Like many schools in Thailand, this one works on Buddhist values with the children. Our son’s been learning mindfulness and love of creatures.

This love of animals is something we try to do at home as well. A lifelong arachnophobe, I’ve had to get over my initial reaction to spiders (“KILL THEM, KILL THEM. AND IF YOU CAN’T KILL THEM BURN THE HOUSE TO THE GROUND”). Ahem. We’re now a family who rescues spiders and puts them outside. Yes, even I have been carefully picking up spiders in Tupperware and gently placing them in the garden. Usually with small boys in tow.

This is awesome…apart from when it comes to finding cockroaches in our house. Now, I’m all for meditation, love of the world, not harming animals etc. But I’m afraid that doesn’t always stretch to cockroaches.

When finding a large cockroach in our living room I had to make a choice: squish and break my son’s heart or lovingly catch it and put it outdoors. You can see from the comic what happened.