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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Slug {A Bigger Picture Moment}

It must have rained in the night, because the edges of the sidewalk are dark where the wet grass hangs over.  There is more than dew on the lawn; everything is heavy and damp.

As is our normal course of morning action, we are almost late, Mia and I.  She ambles down the sidewalk, looking everywhere but forward.  Her eyes are on her feet, the wall, the yard, the sky, the tree, the bricks, the roses, the clouds.  My eyes, however, are fixed on the back of her head, willing her to move faster.  I crowd her steps -- if she will move to one side, I can at least get to the car before she does, and open the door.  But she waxes and wanes across my path.  I'm good and stuck.

"Move faster, sweetie, we need to get going."  A singsong tone always makes me feel less irritating, and more encouraging.  My daughter, undoubtedly, feels otherwise.  She stops mid step, making me stumble over her and her giant backpack.

My foot lands just to one side of Mia as she squats down to the ground.

"Oh, mama, LOOK!"

But she's stagnant where we need to be flowing, and I grumble.  "Babe, we can't stop.  We need to get in the car!"

"It's a SLUG, mama!"

I look down, despite myself.  Ugh.  Nasty.  "Mmhmm, it's a slug, now let's go."  I lift my foot and feel a slippery-sliding lack of friction against the concrete.  I look; Mia looks; we gasp; I gag.

"Mama!  You stepped on one!  You smashed it!  Ewwww...."

I scrape my shoe over the ground, imagining a gooey protruding eye on a stalk of wormy flesh, and it becomes clear to me that dawdling would have been preferable to hurrying this morning.  If I'd been moving as achingly slowly as Mia had been, I would have seen the slugs before smashing one underfoot.

I watch the ground during the last few steps to the car.  I don't need any more wayward, slimy creatures underfoot to teach me how to slow down.  I'll just follow the dawdling child's lead instead.





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6 comments:

  1. I'm gagging just thinking about that smooshed slug... yuck!! Slowing down is so hard, but then, so simple at the same time ;) But man, I know that "why are you going so slow???" feeling with the kids... and then when you shrug it off and breathe easier life seems inexplicably better and you wonder why you were so hurried in the first place ;)

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  2. Eeeew! I guess that'll teach ya! :-)

    (I wonder if "we're late because of a slug attack" would go over with her teacher...)

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  3. I always have to remind myself to stop and picture the worst possible consequence of slowing down versus rushing. Rushing usually loses. Such a funny reminder that there's really no harm in slowing down... and it might actually save lives (slug lives, but still).

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  4. At least you had shoes on :-)

    Oh yes the *almost* late wandering to the car...I know this. I take a deep breath and I imagine all the things that I will do with my one day when we wak right to the car and arrive on time.

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  5. Sorry, but kind of laughing because that's not where I expected this post to go. But, lol, I'm glad it went there because that's life if we're being truthful, isn't it?

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  6. LOL

    Well, if it's any consolation, at least it was a slug. My friend said she accidentally stepped on a leech once in her kitchen - barefoot. Blech!!! {shudder}

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Hmm...And how did that make you FEEL?