OFF TO THE RACES

There are so many things that we could do here in the greater Houston area. It would be easy to over-schedule ourselves and go to all the museums, parks, zoos that are close by and wonderful. But we are trying to balance everyday life with all out-vacation mode so that we see the beauty in each moment, no matter where we are.

Let’s take today as an example. Beautiful, not a cloud in the sky. I took a gorgeous walk down our dead end road past a sheep farm and a small stream. I saw a hot air balloon over the road and watched the native deer, which are much smaller than our Michigan White Tailed Deer, run down the side of the road until there was a break in the fence into the open fields. After some language arts and math outside in the sunshine and bike riding around the pond and park here, I thought it was time to go out and explore Sugar Land a little bit more.

But no one was having it. They just wanted to stay and play with their new friends and enjoy the sunshine and pond, which is right next to us. So I relented; it is so nice to slow down sometimes, and the kids understand that more than I do most days. Then the real fun began.

Ben came sprinting around the side of the pond with the big net in his hands, shouting, “I got it! I got it!!” If there is a surefire way to get every kid’s attention (and the grown-ups too), he found it. He proceeded to dump out a very scared and disoriented turtle.

This started a frenzy of sorts. Everyone wanted a turtle. What to do? How do you catch a turtle if you can’t see them? One of our industrious neighbors who is here with his granddaughters baited a fishing rod with salami and shrimp and a bobber, which we found the turtles love to play with. One after another was enticed with that rod and bobber and scooped up with the net. I believe six total were netted. A new record for this place, to be sure. The kids each claimed one and played with them - they tried to feed them shrimp, cleaned them and loved them as best they could.

Then the best idea of the day. A turtle race. The turtles were packed gently into a huge bucket and in a joint effort by the children, were carried to the pavilion where they drew concentric circles in sidewalk chalk. The turtles were brought out, given pep talks, each given a number in sidewalk chalk on their shell and placed in the center of the circles at the starting line.

Ready. Set. Go!

It wasn’t exactly the Kentucky Derby at first with all the little heads and legs inside their shells, but it turned out to be an exciting race, as turtle races go. And we created a memory that will last forever.

The moral of the day: Slow down, so you can have a race. Even if your race isn’t fast.