Slowy the Turtle

Yesterday I was driving home, when I saw a turtle in the middle of the road.  It was only about a block from my house so I went home and told my husband about the turtle.  I couldn't stop thinking about how tiny it was and how cool Leo and Nora would think a turtle was.  After about 5 minutes of trying to convince myself that the turtle was probably already dead, I decided to go back and check on him.  I drove back by the spot where I saw him and he was still there, this time with his head sticking out.  I pulled over and picked him up.  I thought this had to be a sign I needed to rescue him.  He was gonna get hit by one the trucks that drive up and down this road.  This turtle was very small, probably only 2-3 inches across his shell.  I put him in the passenger side floor and took him back home.  I found a old shoebox size plastic box and put him in it.  Having no idea what to do with this turtle, I put a few leaves of lettuce in the box and a small bowl of water.  I taped the lid down just in case he tried to escape.  I thought the turtle was neat, but there was no way I wanted to risk him getting loose in the house. 

When Leo and Nora got home from school that afternoon they were so excited to see our newest pet.  I took him out of the box and let him crawl on the kitchen floor.  Leo was fascinated but Nora was happy to just look from a distance.  I knew we really had no room from an aquarium.  I figured we could keep him for a couple of days and then let him go out in the back yard.  I asked Leo what he wanted to name him.  Leo said "Slowy since turtles move slow on land."  Ok sounded good to me.  So Slowy spent the night in the house in a box with a taped down lid.

Nora isn't sure about the turtle

This morning both children asked about the turtle.  "Did Slowy sleep well?"   "How are we gonna feed him?"   "Why can't he just sleep in my room?"   Seriously it's 7:00 am, way too early for questions about our new friend Slowy.  I told Leo that Slowy was on vacation for a few days and he would have to go back to his mom and dad soon.  He put up a little fight but was ok with that explanation. 

This afternoon I decided that it was a good idea for Slowy and the kids to play outside for a while.  Here is my chance for Slowy to return to his parents.  I let Slowy crawl around in the grass a bit.  Finally, he crawled over to the side of our porch and hid in the grass.  Leo was playing so he didn't even notice that Slowy was gone. 

Tonight when I put Nora to bed she asked about the turtle.  I told her that the turtle was with his mommy now.  That worked!  Now what am I going to tell Leo in the morning when he notices that we didn't bring the turtle back in?