In a world where most people, especially our national leaders, seem to be taking one side or another and refusing to be civil to those on the other side, we need to find our common joys. There’s always something that can bring us together. We just need to look for it.
A humble frog brings my coworkers and me together. He lives in the drain pipe that runs beneath our yard and empties into our parking lot. I had seen him several times before I learned he makes his home beneath our office yard. My boss is the one who informed me about his abode when I parked too close to the drain pipe one rainy morning.
I don’t know who discovered his home first, but we all do our best to make sure nothing plugs up that pipe. We love our frog. We are careful not to run over him as we come and go throughout the day. We keep the pipe opening clear of debris and trash that frequently blows into our yard. We don’t bring him inside or feed him, but rather let him live as a frog was meant to live.
We only watch our frog. If it’s been raining hard for a while, we’ll watch for him to leap out of his pipe just before the water starts gushing into the parking lot. He cuts it close, but he always beats the tidal wave that sends him hopping for cover. He usually hops over to our rose bushes close to our glass door. He shelters under the roses as we take turns checking on him.
My coworkers and I are compassionate people, but we aren’t the type of folks to stop and stare at every animal that visits our yard. There are several animals that visit daily, believe it or not. We even had a groundhog living under our shed for quite a while. I’m told he was chased off so he wouldn’t damage our foundation.
Our frog is special, though. We don’t fight about whether or not he will destroy anything or become a nuisance. We just watch him. Sometimes we talk about how we wish he’d eat more flies or wonder if he likes spiders. We are all glad he’s there.
He has brought us all together with our common love for him and the joy he brings to our long days. If a couple of no-nonsense middle-aged women, a young woman barely out of school, and a bunch of burly construction guys can bond with each other over a frog, surely our leaders can find common ground, as well.
Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please subscribe to Ozarks Maven, Like Ozarks Maven on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Instagram @OzarksMaven.
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Comments