Mom, Can I Keep Him?

There will come a day in the life of every parent when their child shows up on the doorstep with some critter, looking cute and adorable and inquiring with great hope in their eyes - "Mom, can I keep him? Please."

An intelligent parent will be well prepared for this inevitable occurrence. Know ahead of time what you are willing to keep and what you are not willing to keep.

For me, snakes are absolutely out of the question. Dogs, are too, but only because our lifestyle just does not allow for the kind of space and care that a dog would need.

I have, however, discovered that accomodating a fairly young little box turtle is well within my range. Said turtle came to live with us just yesterday and already has the best house on the block. Her name is Miss Leafy Leigh, presumably because she likes to eat leaves but you'll have to ask Kira about that one. I just nod and smile.

This adorable little creature fits in the palm of my hand and can move really quite fast considering that she is a turtle and all. She enjoys getting out on the carpet and crawling around (and burrowing under my leg) while the girls giggle uncontrollably at the antics of Miss Leafy Leigh. Of course, we are guessing that she is a girl, as none of us are fully trained in the markings of turtles.

Grandma Janet is to blame for this sudden gifting of a turtle. When she brought the girls home yesterday, the turtle came along for the ride. It seems that Miss Leafy Leighs previous home has been invaded by a very determined little dog who seems to think Miss Leafy Leigh is either food or a toy.

Kira has had this same turtle living in Grandma Janet's back yard for over a year now, so she was not willing to tolerate the invasion of Toby the Terror on her prescious little turtle. Grandma's only solution was to let Kira bring the turtle home in hopes that Mommy and Daddy would be willing to accomodate this new addition to the family.

I can honestly say that Randall took this development quite well. He did dare to ask me if Miss Leafy Leigh would be staying for just a few days to enjoy the learning experience or if this was a permanant addition. When I told him she had already had said turtle for a year, he exclaimed that she had only had the turtle for one day. Poor Daddy did not realize that Miss Leafy Leigh had been living at Grandma's house for so long. When I enlightened him, he resigned himself to life with a turtle and proclaimed that we must go to the store to acquire a proper home for her instead of leaving her in a plastic container barely big enough to crawl around in.

Thus began our adventure...and now Miss Leafy Leigh is the envy of all the neighborhood turtles, especially the ones stuck living in the pond down the road instead of in a cozy little habitat such as hers.

Mommy, can I keep him? INDEED!