Sunday, June 23, 2013

Farewell, Froggie.

The just take care of their livestock...
Proverbs 12:10



Or the frogs they find in the yard.

This past Tuesday started with a gorgeous morning.  Cool, sunny, not the least bit humid.  I shuffled everyone and their breakfasts out onto the back deck.  After handling cries of "I'm out of juice!" and "Can I have more cereal?" and "I don't LIKE this, I want toast!" everyone finished his or her breakfast and I sent everyone down the porch steps to play in the yard.  I then gratefully sank into my seat with my rapidly cooling coffee.  The relative quiet was almost immediately broken with shouts of "A Frog!"  I yelled across the yard, "LEAVE the frog ALONE!!" figuring he was one of the peepers that inhabit our yard from time to time.   A voice answered, "He's not moving!"

Sigh. 

I put down my coffee and went to investigate.

My first thought was that perhaps it wasn't an entire frog.  The lawn was mowed the day before, and I was thinking, "PLEASE don't be a limbless frog," as I scurried across the still-wet grass.  Thankfully, a quick glance saw that all parts were intact.

But a nudge with a toe, and then a poke with a finger confirmed that no, he wasn't moving.  This froggie was no longer of this earth.  No, I didn't know the cause of death.  A helpful voice suggested, "Maybe he had a heart attack."  Yes, dear, maybe he did.  Maybe he heard five squabbling voices coming his way and it was too much for him.

(I'm sorry, I can't be philosophical on two teaspoons of caffeine.  And no, I don't CARE that you dissected a frog last month, Luke, and still recall how to do the abdominal incision.  We are NOT doing a necropsy.)

"Mom, what are we gonna do?"  "I'm not touching him!"  "He's DEAD!  That's. NOT. FAIR!!! I don't want him to be dead!"  "It's not my fault!  I didn't squish him!"

Sigh.

I sent Celia for a paper towel (surprisingly, it's my girl who is the least squeamish -- or at least is the one who follows directions).  She came back and we scooted Froggie into the towel and wrapped it like a shroud.  As I'm debating how to dispose of his mortal remains (the big trash bin is at the road waiting to be emptied, and I couldn't just fling him into the woods), she says, "Are we gonna have a funeral?"

A froggie funeral?  It's barely eight o'clock in the morning.  I've had about three swallows of coffee.  Oh, why not?

So she got out our garden trowel, we dug a hole, and gave Froggie a Proper burial.  Complete with the Lord's Prayer.  "After all,"  I was informed, "he was one of God's creatures, too."

Celia then asked if she could build him a headstone. I handed her a Sharpie with my blessing, because it meant I could go back and microwave my coffee.

She found a piece of metal somewhere (I didn't ask) and wrote:
Frog.
Funeral
June 18, 2013
Have a Safe Trip.

What was left of my coffee was now spit across the table.

Goodspeed, Froggie.  May your trip to heaven be safer than the one across the yard.


N is for Northern Spring Peeper

Scripture and Snapshot The Weekend Brew The second ultimate homeschool blog hop from #MomTested. Bloggers, share your best posts. Homeschoolers, find awesome resources and encouragement for your homeschool journey @ www.vicki-arnold.com ThePinJunkie

SuperBusyMum


©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/5505939/?claim=yshrjaqbf8z">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

5 comments:

  1. I so totally feel this post ;) we have adventures with frogs and lizards & such most daily - enjoy your week!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Too funny because it is too real in the life of a mother. Have a wonderful day and enjoy your coffee!! I stopped over from Weekend Brew.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome1 Made me laugh out loud!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What an adorable {and v'funny} post! And so sweet of them to give him a proper send off! RIP Froggy!

    Thanks for linking up with this weeks Mad Mid-Week Blog Hop! xx

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Pin It button on image hover