They're ba-a-a-c-k! Return of the Cicadas to my daughter's life!

I had never heard of cicadas, especially ones that only emerge every 17 years, until I moved to the Midwest. That is not to say they did not exist in my home state of South Carolina, but I had no experience with them.

We were visiting my husband's sister near Chicago, sometime during the 1990's, when I first saw a swarm of these noisy, rather scary bugs, and encountered the masses of dead bodies they leave behind. I remember checking our car before we left so as not to bring any of them back with us to Michigan. My son was fascinated with them - I think he wanted some as pets. Not so much enthusiasm from my young daughter.

Now fast forward to 2004. My daughter, KS, has graduated high school and been accepted to Miami University in Oxford, OH. She and one parent are invited to attend orientation, including a two-night stay in the dorms. (The young folks in one, parents in another - they were promoting self-reliance which I was all about, but some parents had not yet accepted.) At that point, it had been quite a few years since I stayed in a dorm, and I was a little apprehensive.

It was a real surprise when after we arrived on campus after two hundred and fifty plus-mile trip, I stepped out of the car and this rather large, ugly bug flew into my front tooth as I was talking. KS thought it was very funny, of course. We proceeded to register and get our room assignments. We dropped off her things at her dorm and went to find my room.

The room was on a corner with windows on two sides and three beds. We were checking it out when I discovered a cicada on KS's back. Now it was my turn to laugh and her turn to scream! She swore that she was changing colleges if these things were going to be there when she returned in the fall!

We spent the three days putting up with the infestation of cicadas. They were everywhere - millions in each tree you passed under, dead bodies in piles on the grass and sidewalks. There were separate meetings for the students and the parents, so I arrived at the cafeteria for lunches and dinners with a group of relative strangers. I remember laughing as we helped each other "shed" the ones that had attached themselves to our clothes before we went inside. At night, with open windows and no AC, it was a challenge to get to sleep. The mating calls rang out loudly long into the summer night. In the morning, there was only a brief lull before they started up again.

Despite the challenge of those first few days, KS went to Miami U., graduated and now resides in Brooklyn, NY. I had a good laugh a few weeks ago when she sent me a clipping about the emergence of the 17-year cicadas on the East Coast this spring. I wonder how she will fare with them in the city?

Watch out!