… to take your mind off your worries.
I had thought we'd spend this weekend tracking Ike's progress. I thought we'd be snuggled around and oil lamp, listening to the rain on the roof, finishing the book we started on vacation this summer, about a young girl's experience of the Galveston's great storm of 1900.
I soon realized though that it's a little too close for comfort right now.
My guys are worried. They, with furrowed brows and questioning eyes, are thinking about their favorite seaside haunts. They want to know what happens to the animals at the aquarium when people evacuate. They are wondering if the turtles at the hatchery are safe.
Try as I did to steer clear of little ears, they overheard me on the phone with their Granny. They know she has no power, they heard me gasp over her stories of great pine trees across the roads. They know that my aunt June, who lives near Beaumont, is staying with my parents, and that her house is likely flooded.
They don't want to know more, and I can't say that I blame them.
We all find it a little surreal, that places so near and dear to us are experiencing so much devastation. Especially considering that we didn't see a single drop of rain. The winds picked up a little, and we had a few clouds, nothing more.
So, we said a lot of prayers for our fellow Texans, and then we turned the radio off and reveled in the good fortune of toady visitors.
We giggled over how their little feet tickled our hands and how their little mouths are in a perpetual smirk.
James tried to hypnotize his by laying it on its back and rubbing it's belly.
The toads endured all of this and then were treated to a boymade mud hole. My guys are hoping that the toads will like it so much they'll decide to stay for good.
For a little while the toads took our minds off of things and then my oldest asked, "Are sea turtles amphibians too?"
Our skies may be clear, but the clouds remain in our thoughts and in our hearts.
{ 18 comments }
We are also looking for smiles amidst the devastation. Sounds like our families are in the same boat. My kids are having a tough time processing it all, almost as much as daddy who grew up there. It is so strange and sad. I’m also wondering about the turtles! My neice works for an aquarium on the island so I will see if she can find anything out for us.
Hope everything will be alright with your family, friends, and neighbors at the beach.
I’ll be thinking of you and all your family.
Oh, those grubby little boy hands – definitely just the thing to turn the mind from worries for a while.
Hoping all your favorite people and places are relatively unscathed…
Oh how my oldest would love to play with those muddy boys and their toads!
We are keeping all of Texas in our prayers…and now I want to know about the aquarium residents too!
I hope your family and friends fared all right. We in The North are thinking of you all and hoping for the best.
Those photos may as well just be titled “Boys”. How perfect.
I hope your family and friends are safe! Here in Florida, we know all too well what you are going trough!
Hope your family is doing well and is safe. I,too, thought about the turtles.
And against my better judgment, read Isaac’s Storm this weekend about the hurricane of 1900. Good read but maybe to close for comfort.
Sea turtles are reptiles!
Funny that you mention them (not ha ha funny). I was going way back into your blog reading aloud all your chicken posts to my husband last night because, well, I have chickens on the brain.
Any how, I scrolled passed the sea turtle hatchery… and that’s exactly what my husband and I were wondering. Are the sea turtles okay? I sure hope so.
I was wondering aloud to my husband about the animal refugees, too .. how neat that you found extra toads!
It WAS bizarre, wasn’t it on Saturday? Like you, we were prepared to hunker down, but we ended up biking through the heat to the Red Cross station only to find that a few hundred other would-be volunteers had had the same idea.
It’s all so hard to fathom, isn’t it? One minute everything is peaceful and all is well. The next; heartbreak. My sister is in Wimberly and they are doing pretty well up there, but there are lots of friends with family in the South. Frogs are a perfect distraction…
Glad you guys are safe! I was worried that you may have been slammed. We got a bit smacked yesterday. Whew. Scary.
We are so far from all the weather if you measure by miles. But, we are with you all in spirit and prayers.
I was watching for our beach getaway, knowing it was gone and mourning for the loss of such fabulous place. Do you know anything of yours?
I’m sorry to hear your family has dealt with flooding and I totally know the frustration of felled trees and the irritation of no electricity, etc…
I’m sorry your boys are worried over it – there has been a lot of sadness in and through it.
Hmmmm…maybe a lesson in renewal, rebuilding, hope?
Blessings!
thinking of you and your family…
Oh friend…glad to hear you all are OK. My prayers will now be with your family. My cousin and his family in Houston are safe, but wondering about damage to their home. Glad there are froggies and mud holes to distract a bit. Much love!
I’ve never left a comment after reading for many months- but wanted to say how much I respected your comments about the hunting issue. Growingup in Vermont I know how important it can be culturally whether or not anything dies. My two young boys and I found a little toad in our living room – eek – have been wondering how he got there, but hope he enjoys it better in our back garden.
my brother used to jar them every summer ! now my gals like to ” jar ‘em” :0)
Comments on this entry are closed.