To Have and to Hold... A Squishey Frog

I was in the Dollar Store a few weeks ago perusing their great lots of abundant merchandise. This is my version of "safe shopping" since I won't normally actually find anything, but see a lot of really curious "stuff." Seeing the stack of 200 ceramic praying hands is like a pilgrimage for me. They are stacked right next to the tribute to nature of about a half-million plastic flowers, lots of plastic toys representing animals and the great multi-colored lots of plastic things some of which I recognize. This one day was different though. I spotted a special pile of frogs.

I picked up one of the green frogs. They come in two colors... green and orange. They have that pleasant squishy, rubbery plastic feel that I really like for some reason. It was as though I was holding a giant, inedible Gummy Frog. (Is there such a thing as a Gummy Frog or have the Bears dominated that market?) I performed the inevitable action and squeezed the frog. To my delight, the eyes bugged out. Hehehheheheh. I really like these squishy frogs. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, I realize I am being watched.

A small child, about four-years old was looking at me rather disgustedly as though I had been disturbingly naughty. She was with her mom who was busy checking out not far away at the cash register. I "returned the ball" with the best attempt at unscathed innocence that anyone can come up with at my age. I have experienced this look tried out on me approximately two-thousand times or so far in reversed situations. She finally said it... "That's disgusting." That is what she really said with a great deal of emphasis on the disgusting part. Great word and delivery for four. I immediately returned the shot with, "Let that be a lesson to ya. Don't go around squeezing frogs." I smiled that empty headed smile and squeezed the frog again having it look directly at her . Her mother was now watching. "I would not TOUCH... a frog," she said looking at me even harder now as though I were some sort of idiot that she has to express the obvious to. She had a long, dramatic pause after the word 'touch." I wondered if she was in acting school or she is really like this at four. Her mother, who was monitoring the whole exchange, started laughing. The whole experience sold on the merchandise and returned home with two green and one orange frogs.

Pike hated the frogs. I gave him one anyway which he put away for safe keeping. This is something along the lines of attempted politeness for a four-year-old as he muttered something about frogs not being orange. The two older children loved the frogs with their bugging-out eyes and brought them to school squeezing the literal guts out of the frogs all day. Yes... sadly the frogs got squeezed and bugged their eyes so many times they exploded. They begged me to get more, but alas, all the frogs are now gone. I find this a sad commentary about how things work out sometimes. The only one who has a frog now is the one person who does not actually really want a frog. You cannot have your frog and squeeze it too.