Thank you, Mr. Turtle

It doesn’t take long for kids to get bored during the summer. You parents know what I mean. Two days after school gets out, we hear it: “I’m booooored.” “There’s nothing to do.” But it also doesn’t take much for kids to become totally entertained, and sometimes, we, as parents, don’t even have to do anything. Take Thursday morning, for example. After a nasty thunderstorm rolled through Murray County, my daughter Olivia and son Austin did what any kid would do after a storm — they went outside. Why? Because it was wet and muddy, and kids, especially country kids, are drawn to water and mud like I’m drawn to Sportscenter. While outside getting themselves soaked, they came upon a turtle, now considered by me as the one of the best sources of entertainment for children in the world. Turtles aren’t very active on land, but put them in a snow sled that has been filled to the top with rain water, and it’s a different story. All of a sudden, they head pops out, their feet get going and they turn into entertainers without even trying. My kids were so entertained with their new pet they barely had time to say goodbye to me when I left for work. Both kids — and our two golden retrievers — stood there by the watter-filled sled in awe of this creature, staring at it, poking at it — trying to carry it away in their mouth (that would be the dogs). The kids squealed and laughed when they touched the turtle’s slimy, webbed feet. They watched the turtle as it tried to climb out of the sled, only to fall back into the water. This went on for about five minutes. Probably seemed like a lifetime to the turtle. This is why parents must always continue to tell their kids: "Go outside and play," because you never know what kids will stumble upon. I try to keep my kids occupied during the summer, even though I spend most of my time at work. They go to the pool in Tracy every once in awhile, we play kickball and basketball when I’m home, play on the computer and even read occasionally. When I’m gone, they’re on their own, and the oldest, 11 1/2-year-old Caitlin, “babysits.” Sure, sometimes they get bored. But on those occasions when they stumble across something straight from nature, they ain’t got time to be bored.