Hero For a Day

Meet "Turtle Friend." He doesn't even have a name of his own. Yet, my four year old considers him priceless (not priceless enough to keep track of him in our yard, mind you, but priceless nonetheless). Apparently Turtle Friend was riding in his pocket while he was helping Daddy drag brush to the burning pile from the far corners of the yard. Only, somehow, somewhere, he fell out.

My little guy was heart broken when he realized what was missing. He began to cry.

I looked out over the yard and I wanted to cry. At this time of year, our yard, all five acres, are covered with leaves. Of course the turtle had to be brown and yellow. And the leaves are falling by the thousands! There was little chance we would be able to find him, but we set out anyway. We walked the yard and swished the leaves in all the most likely places.

But we found no turtle.

I thought of how I had really wanted to get the mowing done before our trip and realized in frustration that it wasn't going to get done. I felt pretty sure I wouldn't be able to spot Turtle Friend before he came flying out the shoot, and I didn't think I could face my son if I let that happen.

So, out the window went my plans, and out came the leaf blower. I started at one end of the yard and worked to the other. I made enormous rows of leaves. My wrists were going numb and my shoulders were sore and I thought of how much easier it would have been to ride the mower around and chop them up.

With every row I made it became more and more evident that it was not going to happen. I wasn't going to find it. I don't know if I expected to find it, really. What were the odds, anyway, of finding a brown turtle in such a vast ocean of leaves?

But then, as I was rolling my last pile of leaves the final distance, I struck gold! Turtle Friend! Oh glorious little hunk of rubber Turtle Friend!

My boy hit me at a full run and threw his arms around my legs.

You know? It was all worth it, every sore muscle.

The grass can wait. Today I needed to be a hero.