Friday, June 4, 2010

You Say Frog, I Say Blog

Nauseous. There’s really no other way to put it. I knew there was a mouse in the pool filter, and sadly, I have known it for awhile. When I decided to finally get rid of it, I noticed there were a couple of frogs in there as well. Great.

The handle to the filter basket is missing, so the only way to get the basket out is to slide your fingernail down between the basket and the wall in an attempt to wiggle it out. You should know that while the wiggling is going on, my hand will have to be submersed in the water, which is sloshing the items in the basket to and fro…to and fro against my hand. Get my problem?

I’ve looked in the basket many times, trying to psych myself up enough to just do it, but I always walked away defeated. Yesterday, I tried again. I reached in and pulled out. I reached back in and pulled back out. There was no way!

Later, Rylee and our 11 year old neighbor were swimming, and they decided they were going to get it out. Yes! Reinforcements! I watch them with a toy shovel, digging down into the filter, unable to retrieve any of the varmints. In fact, the shovel was actual dismantling the frog, making the situation a little worse. We gave up.

Today, while I was working out in the garden, Rylee noticed another frog swimming, yes swimming, in the pool. I could either get it out now, or I could wait until it’s dead and drifts into the filter, but then my problem still isn’t resolved. So, I grab the pool net and chase after the frog, which is as afraid as I am. My fear was due to the frog’s ability to hop, jump, no, leap at me. I drug the poor little thing under water the length of the pool and then flung the next up through the water and over the fence with epic force. Gone. Long gone with the ferocity of my throw.

Okay, so then I thought, let’s tackle the filter. I can do this. I really can. Then I looked inside at the claws of the mouse and the legs of the frog, and politely closed the lid again. ‘I can’t do this,” I thought, but then Rylee uttered a simple statement that was so wise: “”Mama, if you want to do it, you can do it.”

Wow! My little cheerleader said something so simple, yet so difficult. I wanted to do it, but I couldn’t do it. Or could I? I put on a gardener’s glove and reached down to get the basket. It took a few shakes, but I finally yanked it out. The frog was looking at me, but I pressed on. The mouse was a furry mess, but I pressed on. I ran to open the back gate and dumped the basket. Due to my procrastination, the dern things were pressed to the sides, so I had to shake and roll the basket before they would disengage.

I walked away a little cocky, forgetting about the million other times I had attempted to do it and failed. But, I hadn't failed this time. I placed the clean basket back in the filter, and I was smiling. I felt accomplished because “I wanted to do it, so I did.”

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