And I still have no earthly idea what I am doing. Faking it every single day is how this gig is going to shake out.
But I have had my fair share of "taking one for the team" moments.
I've logged some hours at Chess Tournaments. I've played Legos far beyond my ideal time limit. I've put on a swimming suit and paraded around the pool to entertain my kids on hot days.
I'm not bragging. The truth is, I've done far too few sacrificial activities. But I've done a couple.
The ultimate sacrifice was 2 weeks ago.
See, I'm an introvert. This means I love to be home and alone. I'm not particularly an "outside" girl. I do fine. No squealing and crying, but if I get to choose, I choose inside. I am also not a risk taker. And by not a risk taker I mean I am as opposite of taking risks as you can find. I'm not even a risk manager. I am a risk eliminator.
Enter stage left: The Princess.
She blasted her way into my life and has been making waves every day since.
Two weeks ago, I (along with my dad and mom) took the Princess on a snake hunt. Actually it was a herp tally. Be impressed. Go ahead. I am.
In case you don't know what a herp tally is, I'll tell you. It's a snake hunt.
No, I'm kidding. It's a gathering of scientists, explorers, naturalists, and general outdoors man who survey a location and record their findings, particularly snakes and other crawly things. **the beginning of the description is pretty spot on, the crawly things part is sort of my own paraphrasing.**
Early Saturday we loaded up all of our
Cute side story: my mom was in charge of packing the lunch. She is also dieting. But on trips like this diets are on hold and calories don't count. When we opened the lunch container it included PB&Js, chips, pop, candy bars, cookies, and HoHos. Hilarious!
The day was divided into two separate experiences. We surveyed one large area before lunch and then drove to a different area for the afternoon. I took the morning duty. I spent 3 hours following the Princess as the Princess followed the experts. They found all kinds of things I would have stepped on (accidentally) or walked past or tried to run from.
They picked most things up. They gathered in groups to share and talk. They sprinted through pastures to see what other folks were finding. It was fascinating. The Princess was in heaven. I was extremely impressed with everyone I met. I love watching people do what they love. I have big dreams about her abilities and huge hopes she will meet that one person who can believe in her and help her conquer the world.
It's what we do as moms. We clear the path for our children so they can soar.
After lunch, I decided to spend some time in the car studying and give my dad the chance to hike along with the Princess.
But I have to confess, I sort of got a little over-confident after my 3 hours of herping. There was a piece of me that felt like it was a treasure hunt and you never knew what might be right under the next rock.
The afternoon was quiet. The herpers were long gone on their hike. Mom and I spent time chatting, reading, napping, and even a little walk. Near the end of the afternoon I got antsy. I knew the herpers would be returning and I was anxious to hear stories from my dad and my girl. I decided I needed to get out of the car and go for a walk before the drive home. We were parked beside a big open pasture. I grabbed my camera, a walking stick and flippantly told my mom I was going to go into the pasture and find a big snake and show all these experts how it's done.
I'm so stupid.
I walked slowly through the pasture. The grass was very short and there were almost no rocks. It was literally just wide open space...30 yards from the car. I stopped to look around, took a few more steps, and repeated this for about 10 minutes. Slowly the herpers started to trickle back towards the cars. One guy split from his group and walked my way. As is typical with these folks, he walked up to me and said, "Are you having any luck?" I smiled and responded, "No! But I'm glad, I'm just here as a driver for my daughter."
The words were barely out of my mouth and he said, "Look!"
Pointing to the right of my foot about two feet.
He yelled to his group.
They came running. As in, they were running towards a pair of rattlesnakes. I was completely paralyzed. Well, most of me was. Not my mouth. It wasn't my best moment. I just kept talking. These guys (the humans) got all excited and and used snake hooks to move the snakes and look at them. The snakes just got pissed. How do I know, you ask? Because they rattled!!!! A lot!
At one point one of the guys stood sort of in front of me (ish). After my 16th question about wondering if the snake was at any point going to strike towards me or lunge at me or chase after me, the nice stranger took a few steps and put himself between the snakes and my mouth.
At some point they decided to let the snakes go back under the rock. And that was it. They just walked off. I considered asking for a piggy back ride out of the pasture. I did follow them. Right in their footsteps. Awkwardly close. As we made our way back to the cars, they were already talking about something else.
I almost died! And they were casually heading to their car to grab a beer.
In all reality, I'm not sure if I would have even seen the snakes until I was stepping on one. Maybe I would have walked past without noticing. But almost worse than either of those two scenarios is the one that still plays in my mind. What if I found the snakes all by myself? What would I have done? Would I have screamed? Would I have run?
We won't know.
Ever.
I retired my skills.
Letting the experts do their thing.I will embrace them and encourage them and cheer for them.
From a safe little distance.
Also, behind glass.
1 comment:
I read through this whole thing saying to myself, "Oh hell no". You are amazing.
Post a Comment