Monday, May 31, 2010

mamaw and turtles

to begin this post, i have to mention that i've been so incredibly blessed to have had all 4 of my grandparents up until this past february when i lost my grandaddy. and because we lived about 30-45 min. away from both sets we saw them a lot growing up. now that one of them has passed, i realize that i've taken them for granted for many years. just kind of assuming they'd always be around. but now that my mamaw is living alone in the house she and my grandaddy shared, i think about her a lot. i don't necessarily worry about her...she's pretty self sufficient and doesn't need any help getting around. but i do think about what it would be like to lose the person you share your day with. my grandparents have been retired for many years, so they were together a lot. they were also married for close to 60 years...unbelievable! so to not have that person around anymore, i think about her not having someone to talk to. she has 4 kids and many grandkids so i know she is well taken care of. but nonetheless, i've been calling her. i try to call in the evening if it's not too terribly crazy at my house b/c i would imagine that's when it gets lonely. when the day is almost done. you've been busying yourself all day and then it's the night...and no one else is there with you anymore. we don't talk about anything too terribly important. but i must say, i really enjoy talking to her! she's quite the funny lady! and i really do wish i had been calling her more regularly throughout my life. she has much wisdom to impart and since i'm her grandkid, she's always encouraging me and telling me how much she loves me...who doesn't love that? anyway, this is one of the things i did this week and really, it felt more like she was blessing me. funny how when you give, it always seems to come back to you.

in other news, i was running this week, yes, running and i saw a turtle in the middle of the road. now, something you have to understand about me is that i'm not really an animal person. i mean, i like dogs, if they're not too big and don't jump all over me. but cats, they can lick themselves into oblivion for all i care. birds, kinda freak me out. bugs, well, i hate them...for some reason i think a cockroach could very literally multiply in size and attack me at any moment. and reptiles, well, they're scaly and just kinda gross. so, when i saw this turtle i stopped for about half a second and thought, "poor guy, maybe i should get him to some grass." then, on second thought, "nah, he'll make it across. this street's not too busy." so i continue my sorry excuse for a run...who knew one could get so out of shape in a little over a month? pathetic, i know. so i take a few ragged strides forward and i look ahead. oh no. the turtle's buddy. very unfortunate fate for this little guy. death by tire smooshing. i turn around and look at the turtle i left behind. guilt seizes me. i run back and say a quick prayer that he won't get a go-go gadget neck to turn and bite me when i pick him up. i pick him up about as far back on the shell as i can get, just in case this is some sort of super turtle with a crane neck (hey, you never know). then i place him in the grass. and yes, this was my act of kindness. lame to some, but for me quite courageous since i totally got the heebie jeebies about picking him up. then i continue on in the torturing of my body and look to my left. there to my left is one of the most horrifying of all of God's creatures. a vulture. waiting for me to pass so he can go dig in to my turtle's buddy (yes, he is now "my" turtle). ewwwwww. if i didn't have the heebies before i definitely have them now! so i run as fast as i can for about 10 seconds just to get away from the massacre that's about to take place. disgusting. but glad at least one turtle was saved from such a brutality. gold star.

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