Mejojac's Memos

Parable of the Squished Frog
Once upon a time there was a mom. She was a fairly typical mom. Nothing too amazing about her, and yet she wasn't a total slouch either. But things began to pile up for this mom ... as it often does for most mom's. The kids had been sick for a long time - taking turns, sharing germs... you know the drill. This mom had also been sick. Lack of sleep was piling up, as well as the laundry, dishes, and the muffin top whenever she put her favorite jeans on.

One day she decided to change everything. She got all the laundry done. She vacuumed. She got dressed for the day. She spent some time doing Wii Active. The only dark cloud on this day was the fact that one of her kids was sick and had been sick for over a week. He was entertaining himself quietly while she went about her business.

While she was working out she had the thought, "You should really go check on your kiddo... see what he's doing". But this day was about HER and she was totally in the groove doing lateral shoulder lifty things. So she waited. Once her workout was done she tracked her sweet boy down only to to find that this little guy...

an aquatic frog (read: has to stay in the water or he dies) was on the kitchen table. He wasn't moving and her little guy was kind of poking him. Trying to get him to jump. There were water marks all over the table where he had been previously jumping.

Now, you need to understand that this sweet boy was not being mean. He wasn't torturing the frog - he just wanted to play with him. He didn't understand that his actions would actually hurt the little guy.

But mom... well, mom kinda freaked out. It was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. Because, you see, she felt a lot like that frog. Lifeless and kinda squished. She put the frog back in his tank and watched him float there. She began to cry. She sent her son to his room before she said something that she would regret (it's a bad habit she has). She called her husband and he tried to comfort her, but she was a little too busy wallowing in self-pity.

Depressed and just a little bitter, she watched the dead frog floating in his tank. She berated herself for not checking sooner. Which led her to examine all the other ways she felt like she had failed. The list was long and varied. But then... something happened. The little frog moved.

At first she thought it was a trick her eyes were playing on her. But no, he moved again. Slowly, but surely, he started to swim. Soon he was zipping around the tank. And the mom was amazed.

Somehow this frog had fought his way back. He had been unintentionally tormented and squished. His chance of survival was nil. And yet... he did it. And it occurred to this mom... she could still be like this frog. Yeah, he's still a little squished looking... but he was alive and moving.

And so, I'm here to tell you... I'm still alive. I feel a little squished and like I'm being tormented by things beyond my control. But, in the ever so wise words of Dory, from "Finding Nemo", I'm gonna "just keep swimming".