A post about a girl finding her passion, preschool mothers, leeches,…. oh, and flying dead rodents
This time last spring, I was getting annoyed. Very annoyed. Sweetie wanted NOTHING to do with being outside (unless it was swimming at the community pool). It was always too hot, too sunny, she would rather sit still and play dolls, blocks, etc. I was going out of my mind. After all, I LOVE being outside (well, I hate humidity…. so that isn’t always true). I love playing in the dirt, hiking, jumping into streams (and Wise Guy LOVES the outdoors). And, being that getting her out of the house was a feat akin to waking the dead, my patience was running thin.
One year later, we finally have a swing set in our backyard. Sweetie and Wise Guy can’t get enough time outside. They have discovered shovels and have made headway to digging to China through the hard clay of the backyard. Furthermore, Sweetie has discovered streams. I am so happy….. girl after my own heart (I taught environmental camp at a watershed organization for years, did water quality studies for the same organization, and really have a special connection to stream…… as corny as that sounds.) She has always loved the water, but it was all about the pool. This past weekend, we went to a park with a spillway. Ben taught Sweetie to navigate the stream on rocks. She was hooked. Since then, we have gone three more times, splashing in the stream, looking and picking up rocks. Trying to get her to LEAVE…. that is the new challenge.
But onto the rest of the title, (because, lets face it, that is the provocative part).
Today, we went back to the same park for an end of the year preschool picnic. All the other preschoolers from her class were there. She spent some time playing on the playground, but after about30 minutes, she was begging to go down to the stream. I gathered all of our stuff after putting her off for about 15 minutes, and we went down to the stream.
Wise Guy took off his shoes (he needs new sandals or waterproof shoes), and Sweetie and I waded in our Keens. We were splashing around together, Wise Guy content on throwing rocks in the stream, Sweetie and I exploring. After about 20 minutes, the preschoolers and their mothers approached the stream. The kids, seeing the spillway, raced ahead, the mothers chasing behind, willing them to stop. Once they approached the water, a few of the mothers flipped out, as if wading in the stream was quite possibly the most horrible thing the child could be doing EVER (mind you….. it was water day at school. All the kids were in their suits and water shoes/sandals). I think when they saw me in there with my kids, they resigned to letting their kids splash and play…. (albeit not happily).
Although, we had been exploring (looking for tadpoles/ salamanders), I had yet to pick up a rock to show her all the insects that live in the stream to determine water quality (once a teacher, always a teacher). So I picked up a rock ….. and found….. leeches,…. lots of them…… small ones attached to the rocks. In all honesty, this does not bother me in the least. But, as the children left the stream, I called to their mothers, “You might want to check their feet. There are leeches in here.”
The look of horror that crossed their faces was classic. Their faces contorted in unnatural looks of disgust and panic as they bellowed at the all kids to, “Hurry up…. sit down. We need to check your feet lest the bloodsucking leaches suck you dry.” And, while I honestly did want to them to check their kids feet, I knew what their reaction coming, and, the sadist that I am, enjoyed watching said reaction, manically.
Fast forward a few hours. We were at my mother’s house visiting her, my sisters, and two nephews. The kids were playing out back when I heard my nephew, Lemur, screams, “EWWWWW, a dead mole.” Followed by, “NOOOOOOO, WISE GUY!”
I ran as fast as my feet could carry me to the backyard. There standing on the porch, I encountered a terrible site. Wise Guy was holding the dead mole by the tail, and swinging it in a circle by his head. The look of horror that crossed my face was sure to match the look of horror on the preschool mother’s faces just hours before.
“Drop it,” I yell.
“No,” he said, “it’s mine.” ( I really think he thought it was one of the cat toys).
He continued to swing it, hitting himself in the head once or twice with the dead mole. I pleaded with him, trying to avoid the swinging dead animal. Finally, he let go, dead rodent airborne.
Oh, the HORROR. THE HORROR.
Damn, karma is a bitch.
I would have loved to have spent this day with you, I am still laughing.
Precious memories!!!
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LOL Leeches and dead moles, there’s a day to remember.
I would have been one of the moms at the park. Wading in the water is no biggie, but leeches just freak me out. Leeches, slugs, snails, I just don’t do slimy things.
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Corina Reply:
June 9th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Certainly a day to remember. And your/their reaction to the leeches is completely normal. I am the weird one, I am fully aware of that.
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We took the boys to my cousin’s 8th grade graduation last summer. It was supposed to be a chilled out backyard party. I show up, and their 4 year old has her 3 ft deep pool setup and is running around the neighborhood in her bathing suit. I had a newborn on my breast, and a 2 yr old who’s fascinated with anything morbidly dangerous, like water that’s as deep as he is tall. I should also mention that the pool was setup in a patch of dirt that was quickly becoming a mud pit.
So I tried and tried and tried to keep my toddler away from the pool because I could see him falling in face-first and soaking himself or getting hurt. Being around water scares the living daylights out of me because about 3 months before that he fell headfirst into a little pond at my other uncle’s house (my uncles had literally just told me not 5 seconds before that to stop hovering over him and take my pregnant butt inside to sit down while they watched him – 5 seconds later I hear a scream and turn around to see my child being rushed into the house soaked head-to-toe and covered in weeds because they don’t understand that you CANNOT take your eyes off a child for one second – that incident shaved years off my life and I won’t trust my baby around water unless I can be in it with him.)
So, long story short, back at this party my family is bitching again about me hovering, so I turn around long enough for my son to get soaked and muddy head-to-toe (no clean clothes of course because I wasn’t expecting a pool at the freaking party) and I’m obviously annoyed. Then my uncle starts in with the “oh my god, her son got wet, somebody call the cops on us, jesus christ” – like I’m such an a-hole because I didn’t want my son around a pool that deep and nobody told us it was a pool party anyway, etc, etc.
So, I might be over bearing and a control freak, but nobody but me decides when my child is going to get wet and muddy (and ohmygod I would have had a freaking heart attack if there had been leaches.) That’s my take on it.
TheFeministBreeder’s last blog post..My Little Projects…
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Corina Reply:
June 9th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
And I completely understand your point of view. I think the point of the story is that I was getting cocky, and not in a good way. Again….. leeches….. perfectly normal reaction. I am the one that is strange. But, in my defense, I wouldn’t have been so cocky if the water had been deeper. But most of the stream barely covered the tops of my feet (and while I know that you can drown in less than 1 inch of water, it was EXTREMELY unlikely in this context).
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That’s pretty rapid karma turnaround. Though a dead mole seems to be more of a punishment than even trauma exchange in my book.
followthatdog’s last blog post..More than I needed to know.
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Corina Reply:
June 9th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
This is very true. It was a punishment. A very cruel punishment.
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OOohhhh I’m laughing with you (and a little at you)…because that is hysterical. karma IS a bitch…but that is too funny.
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There are days that life is wonderful and yesterday was it for the year so far!!!!!!!!!
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Oh man, we’d make great friends grossing out the other parents wading in a stream. Just today Jessie and I were talking about going fishing for trout in a river about an hour from here!
Bennie’s last blog post..Still Vacating!
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I wonder if that’s why I’m always complaining about being outside. It’s so darn muggy in Charlotte.
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I loved reading this post…..made me smile.
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Hey, SOMEBODY has to maintain a clear head around leeches and rodents. It might as well be you.
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Oh my goodness!!!!! Do you EVER have a dull moment in your life? You never fail to put a smile on my face!!!!
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Best. The best!!
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I hate it when that happens!
Sugar Jones´s last blog ..Life is Like a Piece of Chocolate Cake
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OMG! That is too funny! I have to say this story could describe my family. A flying mole! We have had so many similar things happen. Especially, because we live in the country and have 3 boys!
I hope it’s ok if a share a few true stories from my family life: and 2009/05/mystery-of-moniker-aka-blogger-career.html. (I usually don’t plug my own posts when I comment on a blog…but, I feel like we are sitting around a blogging campfire and I just have to tell a story, too).
So glad to have found your blog!
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