a fairy tale

Mom has inspired me in life to go with my heart and try new things. (I'm not talking about the "just take one bite of the baked eggs/tripe/parsnips/frog's legs" syndrome.) No -- what I'm talking about is her willingness to take a side road, jump in the deep end, and slog through the mud to get to the good parts of life. To do something others might scoff at and not be afraid.

Once upon a time, Mom came to visit us in Middleboro one sunny afternoon when the kids were little. We were sitting in the back yard, drinking iced tea and enjoying the sound of splashing water from the waterfall and pond that Brud had built -- a raised bed sort of affair with wooden sides and a platform edge all around. We had thrown in some aquatic plants and fish, and that afternoon we noticed that a frog had hopped up on the wooden edge of the pond and was sunning himself near the splashing water.

Mom got up from her chair, put down her iced tea and exclaimed "Oh look -- you've got a little frog!" She marched right up to him and, slowly leaning down, patted him gently on the head. He didn't leap away in fear -- in fact, he sat there while she patted him for several minutes and urged us all to join her. The frog tolerated it for a miraculous amount of time, and didn't jump away until we had all had a turn.

I marveled then (and often since then) that my funny Mother would think to herself "I'm gonna go and pat that frog." But I thank her for just doing it, and inviting us to share the experience. I wonder where we'd be if only she'd thought to kiss that damned frog!

The End

Submitted by Lucy.