Turtles and Toddlers

Who knew a routine drive to preschool would turn into a rescue mission?

Just as we were arriving to the school grounds, we spotted him...

A little Eastern Box Turtle, upside down and alone in the road.

Thanks to some quick reflexes and slow traffic, I was able to grab him and take him to school with us.

Miss Independent quickly named him, "Ocka," and told her classmates every bit of turtle trivia she knew. She was very Steve Irwin-ish" (a.k.a. "The Crocodile Hunter") in her delivery, which seemed to come very easy to her.

Despite my strong desire to keep our little find, my sensibilities kicked in and I remembered some turtle trivia of my own...

Although cute and fairly easy to take care of, turtles do not appreciate being relocated. In fact, many of the species will do everything in their power to return to their personal habitat. (There's a real life message in there that I can seriously relate to, but that's a post for a different day...)

So Mr. Stephen (the school's director) and I took "Ocka" to a marshy spot near where the girls and I found him. And while I'll never know for sure, it looked like "Ocka" had a smile on his little orange face.

All in all, it turned out being a good day for turtles and toddlers.

There was, however, one exception. Through all of the excitement, none of us thought to take a picture. Thank goodness for the Internet!