10 February 2019

[Bess Tugle] - Memoirs of Surviving Children: Thing 2 & the Frogs

When my second son, Thing 2, was little, I got a play pen.  Yes, a “baby cage.”  This was a –wonderful- thing for me!  Thing 2 wasn’t quite crawling yet, but I could put him in the play pen, not worry about what he was getting into, under, pulling over on himself, or what his big brother, Thing 1, might be doing to him, and I could actually get a few things done around the house.

Didn’t I think wrong.

The back door opened onto a fenced in play yard.  Thing 1 would run in and out on a regular basis.  The sound of a slamming screen door was a regular occurrence.  There are only so many waking hours of the day.  There are also toilets to be cleaned, tubs to be scrubbed, laundry to be washed…  You get the picture.  My children were not neglected, by any means, but the sounds kept me informed of what was going on – most of the time.

A word of advice from a veteran mom:  When things get quiet you need to pay attention.  If you hear a giggle, it’s time to worry.  Real laughter should be a cause for alarm.

As I’m cooking supper it finally occurred to me that the back door quit slamming.  

Uh, oh.

The giggles came next, followed by laughter.  

I went into the living room, pots and pans still on the stove, and discovered what all the hilarity was about.

Thing 1 had been going out to the play yard, catching toads, and throwing them into his brother’s play pen.  There were about a dozen hopping around when I caught them.

The baby couldn’t catch them, but it entertained him trying to.  His brother thought it hilarious watching him try to catch them.

Yet another burned supper.
Bess Tuggle

A jack of all trades, Ms. Tuggle has been a Covington resident since the late 70’s. She's been a K-Mart cashier, cabinet builder, vet tech, office manager for a beef cattle ranch and water well company (where she was able to hold benefits for D.A.R.E. and Scouts), a court reporter, business manager, assistant at a private investigation firm, legal assistant, convenience store clerk, landscaper and elementary school substitute teacher.  Her greatest pleasure is being a wife, mother and grandmother.  Her stories are all real, and all names will be withheld to protect the innocent, and also maybe the guilty, depending on the crime & the Statute of Limitations.