Hoppy

My children had a pet toad for about an hour Sunday. During the soccer game we suddenly realized Cailey was standing in the middle of the field looking around down by her feet. We hollered at her and got her moving a little, but then she'd be looking by her feet again, even as her team was down on the other end by the goal. This went on for quite a while. We finally asked her what she was looking for. She had seen a toad while playing and was concerned that she would step on it.

Cailey later told me she had decided to avoid this one section all together so she wouldn't accidentally step on him. I had seen her run down the field, stop at the center field line, walk straight down it, and down the sideline at one point.

Towards the end of the game, after she had been benched (not really), she did find the toad. With the help of her coach she gathered him up and brought him over. She had every intention of taking him home and keeping him as a pet. Grandpa cut the top off of a water bottle for his transportation.

As we left, in her sweet Cailey voice, she was holding the bottle towards the creek near the soccer field telling her toad (Hoppy) to "say bye-bye!"

Going home we talked about wanting the best for Hoppy and decided to let him go at the pond by our house. So when we got there we went down to the edge of the pond and told him good-bye. Everytime we pass now, we say "Hi" to Hoppy.