Surprise!

I’m not sure who was more surprised—him or me, but I just had to laugh. I had just finished my breakfast and taken my dishes into the kitchen. I put the dishes in the dishwasher, walked back to the dining room, and stopped short. There was a piece of food on the floor near the chair I’d been sitting in. “Huh? I don’t remember a piece of food there. That’s weird.”

I bent down to pick it up and it hopped. “What in the world?” I said. Food doesn’t hop. My eyes widened and I jerked my head back. I bent down to take a closer look. Gray with a dark gray spot on its back, it was a toad!

Why is there a toad in my house? “When did you get in here? HOW did you get in here?” I shook my head. I bent down to pick him up, take him outside, and set him free.

He hopped under the table, afraid of me. I’d gotten a paper towel from the kitchen to wrap him in to get him outside. I figured it was big enough to cover him from both sides so he wouldn’t escape, but I couldn’t reach him now. I stooped to get under the table. He heard me and jumped further. I peered under the sofa, and spotted him just on the other side. Paper towel in hand, I walked around the couch and bent over. After two more tries, I succeeded. I’d caught him. I covered him from both sides so he couldn’t escape.

He tried to jump out of my grasp, but I had him this time. I went outside and released him on the deck but he didn’t move. I wondered if I’d hurt him when I picked him up or when I carried him, but soon enough he hopped forward and away he went. He must have just been scared.

That’s the 3^rd time I’ve had a wild animal in my house here. Read about the other times with a bird here and here. I at least know where the birds came from and how they got in, but I have no idea how that a toad managed to come in.

It reminds me of how I can get into the strangest of places or situations at times. Places where I don’t belong but have adapted to. When someone sees me and tries to help get me back where I need to be I may try to escape. Just like that little toad, I’ve gotten used to where I am and change is scary, especially if I don’t initiate it

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Eventually, and it may take quite a bit of time, I may decide to relax a bit and see where it takes me. Usually, it’s to a better place. It can take some time to adjust to it, but with time, (sometimes longer than I’d like) I see the benefits outweigh the costs. 

How about you? When have you been in a place where you needed help but had to trust someone in order to get it?  Share it here.