Belly Up

Well, the inevitable has happened - the frog that Santa brought Erica in 2008 has gone to the great frog heaven. I noticed it - of course, because I look in on them both each day to see if they have water in the frog Jacuzzi. One frog was sitting waaaay at the edge of the Jacuzzi, as far away from it's dead companion as possible, but still in the water. The red and black belly of Flower was all I saw - it was almost like the frog had done a final backflip and landed on it's back on purpose. Otherwise, how does a frog end up "tits up", as they say? It's body is wide and flat, and wouldn't necessarily rotate in the shallow water. Anyway, as I saw the sad sight, I uttered, "Uh-oh", not thinking at all. Erica perked up, knowing this was something out of the ordinary. I blurted out, "Looks like we have a dead frog." How could I be so stupid!!?? Think first, speak later should be my personal mantra! In any case, Erica ran over and peeked into the tank. "Oh, it's Flower", she wailed. "Poor Flower!" Then the tears came, and she was truly sad for the frog that had lived with us just over a year. Even though she hadn't paid much attention to them in the past 6 months - the upkeep fell mostly on me - she was not so much sad for herself and losing the pet, but sad for the one who died. And a little sad for the one left, Lizzy, since she was now all alone. In a short 10 minutes after she had finished crying, the natural question came - "Can I get another frog?"

Not likely.

Now the dead frog sits in a ziploc bag in the garage, awaiting a chance for the ground to thaw and allow a formal burial. Yes, I know... EEWWW!