My son was an adventurer. He was four years old and with a large fenced-in backyard, one could say he had all the places in the world to explore and certainly all the time. I would allow him to play in the backyard where I could see him while I was doing chores around the house. During this time, he had taking a liking to insects, one of my worst fears - even the smallest cricket hopping around outside could send me into hysterics and I don't think he understood that.

One day I was cleaning the oven when my son came running in through the door, his hands full of squirming worms. After nearly barfing all over the floor and screaming for him to take them out (though actually saying, "That's so nice, Daniel! Great find, now PLEASE get them out of here...) he rushed back outside. The amount of worms in his hands had been enough to cause a nightmare for a couple of nights in my worried mind. But he was having fun, and he was a kid. What could I say?

This occurred a few more times until I gave in and bought him a small habitat that he could keep on the counter and put bugs inside. I would often times find a caterpillar or a katydid, which we would feed and then empty back outside. I knew he was having fun with his adventures and discovering a lot new things about all these insects - it was like a big learning project.

One day he came in with squirming hands and, as I did the dishes, I watched him pour maggots into his tank out of the corner of my eye. I cringed and ran over to him demanding, "Where did you find these?! They're absolutely disgusting and they can't be in the house."

They wriggled around a piece of something decayed and rotten, and the smell was excruciating emanating from them. My son just looked up and replied, "I'm sorry, Mommy. I found them in the bowls outside."

"Bowls?" I asked. "Can you show me where you mean?"

I followed Daniel out into the yard until we came to a part of our yard closest to the forest, where holes had been dug by my son. There, in the holes, were carved out human skulls, skin still attached to the outside. Maggots writhed in and out of the eye sockets and gaping jaws.

Daniel just looked up at me and said, "I like all these bugs hanging out in our backyard."