Saturday was such a fun day for the girls. We were outside playing, I was talking, they were playing, when all of a sudden Hallie yells, "mom, I caught a frog!". I look over and sure enough she is holding a good sized frog in her hand. She and Maggie were so excited and wanted to go show it to Javien. So as they ran over to knock on his door, Jennifer (his mom), and I got a little nervous for the little frog's life. His legs were fully extended and stiff as a board, but when I asked Hallie if he was alive, she was sure that he was. I was not as convinced, but when she set him down for a second, he sprang back to life and seemed just fine. So for the entire day, that is all the girls could think about. They made a home for him, fed him crackers, gave him some of their toys and carried him around relentessley. We begged them to come in for dinner and after a bite or two, they were ready to go back out and check on "jumpy". It went on like this until bedtime. We couldn't get them away from the frog. We finally convinced them to put him to bed outside and let him go to sleep. As they went to bed, all they could think about was "jumpy". Was he cold, scared, etc? Did he miss them? They wanted to go out SO bad, but we convinced them to stay inside. We tried to prepare them for the fact that "Jumpy" would probably jump back to his family and that he would be happy and safe with them. We tried to prepare them for "Jumpy" to be gone. Well, when they woke up, again, "jumpy" was first on their minds. They ran out to check on him and sadly, he was gone. They ran around the whole yard looking for him and calling his name. They came back to the house, heads hanging and tears in their eyes. "Jumpy" was gone.
It was a sad rest of the day. The girls both cried ALOT and kept going out to look for him. They wondered what might have happened to him and they were genuinely sad. I was actually a little sad, too. For the first time, the kids were sad about something that I couldn't fix. Ususally, I can solve whatever seems to be upsetting them, but this was out of my control. For the first time, I watch their environment have an effect on them and it made me think about how that will continue to happen thoughout their lives. There will be disappointments and heartbreaks for them that I won't be able to fix. People will hurt their feelings, they may not make the dance team or the cheerleading squad, or get asked to the Prom, and I will have to watch them be sad. I didn't like that feeling one bit. I live to make them happy, to see them smile. It was sad to see them hurting for something that they missed so much. It may sound silly, but it was kind of a big deal for everyone. So, today, we have been looking for another frog and I am sure the quest will continue until we have found another to replace "Jumpy." And today looks a little brighter as time heals them and helps them forget.
