Frankie's Journey!

The phone rings! I am in the middle of a yoga class. It is not too early in the morning but early enough for any friend to call. The rule of thumb is clear - pick up the phone if it is from a family member! I excuse myself from the class and lo! it is my DH. It is extremely rare for him to call during my class. Mind of course runs wild, mostly towards negative things. Thank fully, it is about something else. He has found a decent sized turtle crossing the street on his morning run and is worried that he/she may get run over. He is calling to ask me what to do. You know, we find a penny, a quarter sometimes even a dollar but my DH and these animals . It is strange how he finds them on the streets crying for help. I find it adorable though that he stops and calls. Of course, I don't know what to do. Then I think of the time he found two dogs on the street that we had brought home to take care till we found the owners. Well chances of finding a owner for this turtle are none. We don't even know if it is a pet turtle. I look at my screen, students patiently holding their pose waiting for me and my DH waiting patiently on the phone. So, hurriedly I tell him to bring the turtle home and that we can figure this out. He seems surprised but not a man to say no to me, says okay and hangs up! I sense the surprise, but not the time to continue with the conversation. After a few minutes, I hear the sound of footsteps and activity and realize that the turtle has come home.

Have I ever told you how much I lecture on internet and it's usage to my students, especially during this time of the school year as I set a precedence in the classroom? Well, all I can say thank your stars tha you are not in my class. And this is one place where I follow what I preach, all because of my job. Researching on a subject or content I want to teach, it is very easy to disappear into that rabbit hole. If anything, I have learnt to limit what I look for online . I remind myself and students once a week that these are only tools and we are still the masters who know how to use them. Yeah, I hear you! Start of the school year is all that and more - tools and masters. Talk to me at the end of the school year and I will be singing a different song - all tools and no masters! Anyways, the one tool I am super grateful for is the GPS. Please don't tell me you are not! What an amazing piece of technology that is. No matter the destination, it makes sure that our journey is easy in its beautiful accented voice if choose; most of times anyways. I love my GPS alerting me to "Police spotted a mile ahead, object on road, car pulled over' etc. Oh yeah, the reason I thought of this internet and all that is the turtle. Just talking about it can take me to a rant like this, imagine my poor students when they get caught!

Anyways, I am back upstairs from my yoga class and ask my DH where the turtle is. I know he should be in a box or a bin, don't worry an open one. After all DH has tiptoed into my yoga class a couple of times asking and looking for one. So the question was more like 'Where is the bin with the turtle now?' Of course it is near the pond - DH is worried that it may be getting too hot for the turtle, has put in like a glass of water in the bin and set the turtle. The turtle slowly withdraws into its shell as I get closer to it.



The amazement of it all is, DH has taken about 10 mins to run back home when he realized I couldn't abandon my class and go pick him, wake DD up, take the car back and our "Frankie" (Yes, DD had decided it is going to be Frankie - our family does love to name their animals ) was still busy crossing the street and had barely moved a foot. So, it was no wonder to see her barely move in the tub other than its head. I watched its head movement for a couple of minutes enjoying the breeze and the very mild morning sun and those birds going tweet tweet, chirp chirp, the calm sound of the water flowing adding to the serenity around me, not to forget the one hour yoga! Seeing me sit on the patio and relax, dogs are eager to come out but I am not sure about letting them out, yet! As I debate what to do, I decide to look up online. Ah! there we are, all that spiel about internet was for this - to say that I am so very grateful for it. I type in what I see in/on the turtle in front of me - yellow and black shell turtle and read up all about it.

Just then DH comes out asking about my thoughts and I tell him that we should simple leave it back where we found, but turning it to the direction it was coming from! Don't worry, we did not leave it back on the street but in the woods near the street where it had ventured from. And boy! was she happy to be set on ground or what! She made a 'run' for her home as soon as she set foot on grass...well by it's standards, it indeed was a run!

Frankie hopefully has reached home. I believe this breed of turtles have 'site fidelity' and may live in the spot for 32 years or more and if relocated will still try to find their way back home!
Hopefully, we have spared Frankie the two mile two year journey

PS: And oh yeah, had come across an article a couple of weeks ago on how the shell of a turtle represented lunar calendar and today I could count the same on frankie's back too! The lunar calendar on a turtle’s back - Parks Blog

 

Dear @Thyagarajan sir,

Thank you for your feedback and as the first one too! That lunar calendar story was kind of interesting to me. These incidences always help me for I am looking beyond and when I take steps it is usually also keeping my students in mind. They help me children - mine as well as my students be a better person. DH is very well aware of my feelings and thoughts about nature and usually is cautious too

 

Dear @deepthyanoop ,

Thank you for your lovely feedback and I am so happy to hear especially this -

It means a lot! You have sown a seed now

Kids are the cutest and I can only imagine you enjoying your little one!

It indeed was very strange and may I say, rare to find turtles in our parts of the world. I still can't get the image of the vibrant yellow of the turtle and the way it went in to its shell every time every time it detected some one close to her. You should have seen her when we dropped her off....in complete shell shock (corny!! sorry!) till we put her down. I cannot imagine what fear it must have gone through on that concrete surface going by its joy when it touched the grass. Our pond area has so many stories, I am also tempted to put it all together sometime along with some pictures and share! Much love to your little one!

 

Dear V sir,

That is an interesting perspective! Perhaps I should slow down a little and look inwards more. I am sure am glad it came my way though. It is such a joy to see DD still enjoy such encounters - I am anyways considered cuckoo.... Thank you for your feedback.

 

Dear Syamala, @shyamala1234

Always a pleasure to read you and hear from you! Thank you for for your feedback. You are right indeed - Frankie came as guest and went her way leaving happy memories for us!