Grandsons and Frogs: A Story of Flying Frogs

Today our family went to my son Max's lake house and met my daughter Celeste and her children. They wanted to have a combination mother's day and birthday dinner for me. We fished - well, they did - and cooked hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, and had birthday cake. It was a lot of fun.

Then husband Bill took sons Beau and Gage and grandson Marcus down to the dam to fish. LOTS of time went by, it was getting late, and church is tomorrow, so finally Celeste and Max go looking for them so we can go home. I get left at the lake house with a grand total of 11 children, ages 12 on down.

It gets dusk, and I'm so tired, I end up falling into a dozy sleep on the couch. I am wakened by grandson Billy saying, "Grandma, look what I found." I open my eyes and he opens his hands - and a frog makes a flying leap for his life.

Now, this frog does not jump like a normal frog, those kind of slow motion jumps. This frog jumps like an obedient frog child who has grown up at his mothers frog legs hearing warnings to stay away from eight year old boys if he wants to live to be an old frog. This frog jumps like he knows this is probably his only chance. This frog jumps like it has some kind of intelligence. This frog jumps from the sweaty hands of a young boy, straight onto the shoulder of a sleeping old grandma. Who screams. And screams again when the frog decides that jumping is not enough, he's going to take a chance that old ladies are safer than little boys, and he's going to burrow into her clothes and hide for his life.

A grandma screaming is a very delightful thing to little boys with frogs. It's a delightful thing to a whole houseful of young children under the age of 12. Total chaos erupts. The frog is retrieved from grandma's dress, and then held out to various preteen girls whose screams are almost as fun as old grandma screams. The frog does not disappoint, and each time, he makes a desperate attempt at freedom, only to be met with ear shattering screams and running child bodies, and is always retrieved from under couches or chairs or stomping feet or baby hands.

Thankfully, Max and Celeste find the men and bring them back home. I left before grandson Billy did. As far as I know, he's still tormenting his sisters. I think I can hear them...