The Newest Member Of My Family

It was a simple fishing trip.  My husband and son went with men from my church to have a little fun.  I figured that they would probably come back with stories to share, dirty clothes, and a few bug bites but I didn’t think they would come back with a new member of the family!  Francis.  Yes, Francis (not sure where the name came from) is an African Helmeted Turtle that apparently “followed” the boys home from the lake.  Um, really, the turtle “followed them”?

I absolutely didn’t want that turtle in my house!  But they were so excited about it that I decided not to fight it (at least for now).  Since I know that my son was saddened by the death of his fish Hunter, I decided to do  my “mommy needs you to think about this” routine to make sure that he knew what he was getting into.  My strategy was to ask him why he decided to keep Francis which would make him see the errors of his ways, LOL!  Instead, this is what he said:

I can’t turn away Francis because I am sad about Hunter.  I have to let it go and not blame myself.  He is absolutely right!  The word is FORGIVENESS.  He has forgiven himself for what happened -not that he needed too because he didn’t do anything wrong- he just felt responsible for what happened to Hunter.   Just because something doesn’t work out for me doesn’t mean I can’t try again.  Just because I reacted one way in a situation doesn’t mean I can’t react differently next time!  And just because something wasn’t right for me in the past, doesn’t mean it won’t be right for me in the future.  Now that’s a good reminder isn’t it?

I don’t know anything about turtles so this will help me learn.  Wait, what?  Instead of running from something he doesn’t know about, he is going forward, even though he doesn’t have all the answers.  I have to admit, I am not that kind of girl!  I need to know all the details, possible solutions, and potential threats before I proceed with most things.  I like to think things through!  It is a combination of my FEAR OF FAILURE and my desire to have CONTROL.   I know you are not like that at all.  You probably go towards new things with gusto and relish the lessons along the way.  You are all fearless…but me, I have to work on that.  If my son can do it, so can I.

It’s not like I have to take care of him by myself.  Um, yes you do!  Don’t expect me to be involved in caring for that turtle!  At least that is what I was thinking (I wouldn’t actually say that to him…at least not like that).  But I will say that he brings up a good point.  The whole family will most likely pitch in to help.  Between that, YouTube experts, the pet store, and Turtle Blogs (yes, he found some already) there is more than enough information to help him take care of Francis.  That’s another reminder for me:  I DON’T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING ALONE!   There is nothing new under the sun and someone has already worked out whatever it is that we are trying to figure out!

Well, there was nothing more to discuss.  He had clearly thought this through.  Now, Francis is a part of the family.  And as a bonus, I learned a few lessons.  I have decided to live a bit more like my son:  with forgiveness, without fear and with help from others.  🙂