Lizard Hunters

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things about going on vacation was lizard hunting. I don't remember catching them personally, but I remember the thrill we all shared when one of the boys caught one. Sarah was never squeamish about that kind of thing so she very well may have been one of the catchers too. At any rate, we never lived where lizards ran free so it was always exciting when we had one in our possession. Some things just don't change. It has been warm here for a week or so which has brought the lizards out from under the sidewalks, and that has coaxed my children out into the sun for hours on end. They are all sunburned from this new activity.

After the neighbors dropped yet another lizard off at our house yesterday, this one twice the size of any my children had found, I decided to drop the bomb. Being the generous, warm-hearted soul that I am, I announced yesterday that we would not be keep all the lizards we find, along with a long discourse on how when we capture the wild, they are imprisoned and when we let them go, they are happy and free. I didn't expect Kennedy to come home crying after the first release. I really didn't expect Jasmine to run into her room sobbing. They love these little creatures as if they were their own. They also love stink bugs and crane flies with the same devotion. I must be heartless because I'm just don't get it.